Next Generation Mermaid 3
by Asuki Star
Summary: Sequel to Next Generation Mermaids 2. A year after they first met, everything seems fine. Suddenly Sarah, Emily and Amber get a vision of a girl. Who is she? At the same time strange attacks start to occur, not only directed at themselves, but normal people as well. What does it mean and is there a connection between the two? I'm bad at summaries. Story is better. Please R&R.
1. Visions

**Disclaimer: I don't own H2O, but I'm seriously glad someone brought it on TV.**

**A/N: I'm back from my break. I'm sorry it took so long, but I'm thrilled that so many are interested in a third installment. This is the sequel to the sequel of Next Generation Mermaids. To understand everything I recommend reading the other two stories before going on to this one. Emily, Amber and Sarah are still the main characters with Emma, Rikki and Cleo in minor roles. Now without further wait here is the 1st chapter of Next Generation Mermaid 3. Enjoy!  
**

Chapter 1: Visions

"Thanks so much for helping me, Rachel," Sarah said to brunette standing next to her. They were in Sarah's kitchen, which looked like a war had raged there. Dirty bowls, utensils and many other things were scattered across the counter tops.

"You're welcome. It's my pleasure to help, actually. I mean, how many times does a one year anniversary come around?" Rachel replied as she placed some of the dishes in the dishwasher.

"As far as I know, once, but who knows how that is with mermaids," Sarah joked.

"I'm sure Emily and Amber will love it," Rachel told her.

"I don't know. I'm not even sure, if they realize that as of tonight, it's been one year since we first transformed," Sarah admitted, softly.

"What? Come on. How can you even think that?" Rachel demanded to know.

"Because, we haven't once talked about it. It seems like they completely forgot," Sarah explained, sadly.

"So that's why you're throwing a surprise party for them?" Rachel confirmed, "I think it's a great idea and even though I can't believe that Emily and Amber, okay at least Emily, wouldn't forget your anniversary, I don't think you should give up on them." Sarah nodded, a small smile on her face. "Just like these three stones are together, you will never part. You will always think the same," Rachel continued, holding up the necklace with the three stones that she had gotten from them.

"Okay, okay, I get it. No more negative thoughts," Sarah smiled with a small chuckle, "You're really good at cheering people up, though the stone analogy was a bit too much."

"I try," Rachel replied, grinning with a shrug.

"Wow, something sure smells good," Cleo said, coming into the kitchen.

"Lets hope it tastes as good as it smells," Rachel replied, smiling.

"So it's already been a year?" Cleo asked, "Time sure does fly."

"Sure does," Sarah agreed, "It only seems like yesterday, when Amber, Emily and I first met, found Mako and transformed into mermaids for the first time."

"And not much later brought Rikki, Emma and me back together," Cleo reminded her, "We owe you more than we can ever repay."

"More importantly we brought you and Lewis back together," Sarah pointed out and Cleo nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of which, how are you doing?" Rachel asked, looking at Cleo's big stomach.

"As well as one can be in the 8th month. He's being very lively," Cleo smiled, placing her hand on the bulge that the baby made.

"If you can look past the constant craving for sardines," Sarah teased, playfully.

"I don't have it that often anymore," Cleo protested.

"Well, a sardine craving makes sense with a former mermaid," Rachel pointed out and they had to laugh.

"I wonder if it will be a girl or a boy," Sarah wondered, aloud, placing a hand on her mother's stomach, "I can't wait to be big sister."

"We'll find out once it's born," Cleo replied.

"What if it's a girl? Could she also become a mermaid?" Rachel inquired.

"Well that's unlikely," someone said and they turned around to see Lewis walk in, who wrapped his arms around his wife from behind.

"Why do you say that?" Rachel asked.

"Because Cleo isn't a mermaid anymore. Her genes transferred to Sarah when she was born. That makes it pretty much impossible for the baby to have the mermaid gene, if it does turn out to be a girl," Lewis explained, causally.

"So you're saying it'll be a boy?" Cleo questioned.

"Well, obviously. I can't be overrun by a household full of girls," Lewis joked, making the women of the family look at him hard.

"Just you wait and see," Cleo warned as they left the kitchen.

The two girls looked after them for a bit and then grinned broadly. "Your parents really love each other," Rachel remarked and Sarah nodded, "I'll take the food with me, if that's okay with you."

"That would be great," Sarah replied as she packed the cake and several small cupcakes into a basket.

"I'll call you once I'm there so that we can set everything up," Rachel told her, "Don't worry, they won't know what hit them." She winked at the other brunette.

"You're the best," Sarah smiled and guided her to the door.

Rachel walked along the road, her mind thinking of tonight. Everything was going according to plan. It would be perfect, she thought as she smiled to herself. Luckily her house was not too far away and she soon arrived.

Carefully she opened the door to see if her mother was there. She heard nothing and quietly entered, not wanting to draw attention to her presence. In the kitchen she placed the basket on the counter, then went to the cupboard where she kept two more baskets. Opening each of them, she looked inside. How was she going to do this? Finally she unpacked all the baskets, spreading all the contents around the kitchen, where there was room. After that she got out some stuff of her own out of the fridge, beginning to pack the baskets anew.

"What are you up to?" Charlotte asked, coming into the kitchen and seeing the amounts of food everywhere, "Is there a birthday that I missed?"

"Not really. It's Sarah's, Emily's and Amber's one year anniversary," Rachel replied, noticing that her mother's eyes narrowed at the mention of her friend's names.

"I'm amazed that they remember the exact date. Most people don't," Charlotte said, casually. Was there a hint of suspicion in her voice, Rachel wondered.

"They met on the first day of camp and since they could easily check online they knew," Rachel half lied. She resumed packing two baskets, trying to ignore her mother as best as possible. She hated how her mother always reacted to any topic regarding her former mermaid enemies.

"But why did they invite you? You only met them a while later. I would I imagine that they would want to celebrate alone," Charlotte replied.

That did it for Rachel. She slammed her hands on the counter and snapped, "Listen mom, just because you didn't get along with their mothers, doesn't mean that I can't be friends with them. It's my choice, not yours."

Charlotte glared at her daughter. "So you're on their side now?" the mother accused.

"I'm not on anyone's side," Rachel protested, annoyed, "If you have a problem with them, take it out on them, not me."

"You've been distancing yourself from me ever since we moved here and especially after your stay in the hospital," Charlotte told her, angrily.

"I'm not distancing myself, but you're making it pretty hard not to," Rachel snapped and with that grabbed the two baskets of food she had prepared, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving." She stormed out of the kitchen. Charlotte stared after her daughter enraged.

Outside Rachel stormed down the street, only to stop a few houses later. She stood in front of a vacant house and made sure no one was watching before she went into its backyard. Only there did she halt to take several deep breaths to calm herself. It's not that she hated her mother, but how she looked down on her friends had drawn a line between them.

It was because of such antics that Rachel kept the motorboat, which she got from Lewis, at the dock of this vacant house and not at her own. Her mother would only ask questions. She slowly walked down the dock to the anchored boat. After placing the baskets in the boat, Rachel got in herself and drove off.

Yearning she looked at the water as she made her way to Mako. How she wanted to swim there, but that was impossible. It has been impossible for nearly a year. When she was with the others, of course, she didn't mention it. They saved her life and that was no way to repay them. The only person, who she had confined her true feelings to, was Alex, her boyfriend, but sadly his exchange year had ended and he had return back to their hometown. Now they only saw each other on rare occasions, but they often talked, wrote letters, and wrote messages online. With a sigh Rachel looked back up at Mako Island, seeing that the sun was getting ready to set soon.

* * *

Sarah sat on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She anxiously awaited Rachel's call. Soon she found herself pacing the length of her room. What was taking Rachel so long? The sun was slowly setting. Just as Sarah had walked over to her window to enjoy the sunset over Mako, her phone rang. Quickly Sarah looked at the message. "Sorry that it took so long. You can come now," it read.

Having read the message, Sarah took off like a race car driver when a race started. "Have fun!" she heard her mother call after her as she was already out the door. Taking the dock as a diving board, Sarah dove into the water and zoomed off.

The setting sun transformed the already beautiful underwater scenery into an almost magical panorama. Sarah slowed to enjoy it. How had she ever hated swimming? Just as she reached Mako, Sarah thought she saw something swim in front of her. Was it her imagination. "Probably a fish," Sarah reasoned with herself as she swam into the underwater entrance to the moon pool.

Just as she was about to surface, Sarah realized what she had seen. Breaking the water, she stared into the faces of her two mermaid friends, who seemed just as shocked to see Sarah as she was to see them. "Emily, Amber?" Sarah said, surprised to see her friends.

"Amber, Sarah," Emily added.

"Sarah, Emily," Amber muttered.

"What are you doing here?" they all said in unison, "Rachel called me here. What are you talking about?" Confused they stared at each other.

"Then where is Rachel?" Emily finally asked.

"I'm over here," a voice said, making them look up to the entrance of the cave and they gasped. In the midst of an array of different dishes, ranging from cake to fruit to ice cream, stood Rachel with a broad smile on her face.

"Rachel," they muttered, surprised.

"Happy one year anniversary," she smiled.

"Did you make all this for us?" Amber questioned, astonished.

"Take a closer look," Rachel told them and then they realized it.

"That's my cake," Sarah said.

"And my fruit," Emily added. "

Over there's my ice cream," Amber noticed.

"Wait a minute. Did you say your food?" the girls questioned at the same time.

"Don't you get it yet?" Rachel asked, smirking, "You each thought the others forgot and wanted to throw a secret party. You needed help and came to me. You're more alike than you think." The mermaids stared at each other astonished. Then they hugged.

"You really remembered our anniversary?" Emily asked Amber.

Blushing, Amber turned her head away and muttered, "Only by chance." The girls smiled, knowing Amber was lying and just didn't want to admit it.

"But what about the rest?" Emily asked, noticing that there were still several other dishes unclaimed.

"I made those," Rachel smiled.

"Come here you," Amber said and pulled Rachel into the water. Coming up sputtering, she was quickly embraced by the three mermaids.

Then they sat down, ate, talked and just enjoyed themselves. Rachel only half listened in though. She was unusually solemn. The argument with her mother had been one of many this past year since she became a mermaid. She suspected that her mother knew quite well what was going on that that that made things even worse. Her mother had never overcome the past, which annoyed Rachel to a certain extent.

"Is everything alright?" Sarah asked, observing their friend's quietness. Rachel looked up, having been rip from her thoughts, with a smile,

"I'm fine. Just thought of something. It's not important." The mermaids, though they didn't really believe Rachel, didn't push the matter. She would tell them on her own terms soon enough.

"We ran out of ice cubes. I'll makes some new ones," Emily noticed, trying to get off the subject, "Sarah will you help me?"

The brunette nodded, coming over to make water balls while Amber remarked, "How about a small campfire? There's some wood over there."

"That would be great," Rachel replied, piling up the branches and logs. Using her magic, Amber ignited the logs. Watching her friends, Rachel felt strange for a fraction of a second.

Suddenly Rachel's necklace, more accurately the three stones, began to glow. "What the…!" the four girls exclaimed as the blue light grew more and more intense, blinding them and making them let go off their magic. In front their eyes flashed an image. A girl. She had blonde, wavy hair and beautiful blue eyes. She must have been around the same age as Sarah, Amber, Emily and Rachel, but she looked pretty shy.

Just as quickly as the image came, it was gone, along with the blue light. The girls rubbed their eyes, which hurt from the light. "What was that about?" Amber asked.

"I don't know, but did you see…," Sarah began and Rachel ended, "A girl? Yes."

"But why?" Emily questioned, staring at Rachel's necklace, "It has to do with that. So the moon pool is somehow involved."

"You think she's a threat?" Amber inquired.

"No way. You saw the way she looked. She couldn't be," Sarah retorted.

"Wouldn't be the first time we were wrong," Amber muttered, but everyone ignored her, "Maybe we should find her then we know what she wants."

"And how do you suggest we do that? Not like there was a single clue that could help us," Emily objected.

"We do have one," Rachel pointed out and held up her necklace, "This. If it can show us her, then why not the way to her or at least her location?" The girls had to agree with that.

"But how do we get it to tell us? We don't even know what triggered this," Sarah replied.

"I guess for now all we can do is wait," Emily sighed. "I hate waiting," Amber muttered as she scoffed down another piece of cake.

"Hey, I wanted that," Sarah protested.

"Tough luck. First come, first served," Amber mumbled between bites, while Sarah just frowned.

After having talked half the night and cleaning up, Rachel headed home, though she didn't want to. Instead of going inside, Rachel walked around the house and sat down at the edge to the water. She reached down and slowly let her finger glide over the water. Looking at her wet fingers, she felt sad. Even though she hadn't had her powers for almost a year now, she had gotten used to relying on the aid of the necklace. Rachel let her mind wander to the magic that resonated from the necklace and grasped a bit of it. Using it, she made a small water tentacle float in front of her. The same kind of tentacle which was the reason for her now powerless state. Irritated she flung the tentacle away, making a splash. It was strange having to think how to reach the magic when she wanted to use it. Back then she never had to.

The crescent moon that shone down from above eased her mind a bit. She couldn't let herself think like this. For her own sake and everyone else's. Her mind started to wander back to her other problem at hand. Her mother. She had to keep her as far away as possible from Sarah, Emily and Amber. Though her mother didn't have any magic left, she knew her mother would do anything to get back at their mothers. With a sigh Rachel got up and went into the already dark house.

* * *

The next day, or to put it better, that morning, the four met in Emily's bedroom. "Sarah, was Lewis able to shed some light on the situation?" Emily asked.

The brunette, who had told her parents everything in hopes of finding a solution, shook her head, replying, "No. He can't explain it either. According to him, there were no strange or rare celestial occurrences. It was an ordinary night." "

Well something must have been different otherwise that wouldn't have happened," Amber retorted.

"Maybe the moon pool just decided that it wanted to show us that girl," Rachel suggested with a shrug.

"But then why did only your necklace glow and not the whole cave? We can't forget that those stones are from a different moon pool," Emily pointed out, thoughtfully.

"Are you saying that it was Claire trying to contact us?" Amber questioned, her voice shaking slightly at the thought of the spirit that had saved them.

"Why not?" Emily replied.

"Because it's not her," Sarah interrupted them abruptly, making everyone look at her surprised, "Don't ask me how I know, but it's not. It doesn't feel the same. It didn't feel like a warning, nor did she talk to us. No, whoever did this, is not Claire. Besides her spirit no longer exists." Sarah whispered the last sentence with tears in her eyes. Everyone placed a consoling hand on Sarah. They knew Sarah had felt closest to the spirit.

"Then what was it? If we can rule out our moon pool and Claire, who's left?" Emily asked, "Rachel, did the necklace feel any different than usual?"

Rachel though back to last night. She was about to shake her head, when it hit her. That strange feeling she had felt. "I felt strange for a moment. I didn't think anything of it, but now I realized it," Rachel answered, "For an instance the aura of the necklace intensified by a thousand. That was right before it began glowing."

"Even so, why did it suddenly build up?" Sarah objected.

"I think… it reacted to your magic," Rachel told them softly. Everyone stared at her in silence.

Finally Amber said, "What? Why would it be reacting to us? We've used our magic plenty of times before and never has anything remotely close like that happened."

"I know that. It's just… I can't explain it. It's kind of like how it is with Sarah," Rachel tried to explain.

"Okay, before this turns into an all out war, there is one simple way to test this," Emily interrupted them, "I'll be right back." With that Emily got up, left and returned soon with three glasses of water, which she placed in front of her friends. "We'll use our magic on this water and see if anything happens," Emily told them and activated her power to slowly freeze the water in one glass.

Eagerly all four of them stared at Rachel's necklace, waiting for something to happen. "See, I told you," Amber said when several seconds passed without anything occurring.

"Just be patient. Sarah," Emily retorted and Sarah nodded, using her power to make a column of water raise from another glass. Again they waited to no avail. Finally Amber raised her hand, making the water in the last glass start to boil.

They eyed each other, waiting for something to happen. "I told you noth- What the…!" Amber exclaimed as suddenly Rachel's necklace once again started to glow. This time however instead of becoming an exploding light, one beam of light came from each stone. They ran across the walls of the room before pointing to one spot on the wall, where a world map hung. Then it disappeared again.

The four girls stared at each other astonished. Slowly they walked over to the map to take a closer look where the beams had pointed. They stared at the map. Partially smirking at Amber, because it had worked, Emily said, "Looks like we're going to..."

**A/N: **Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I couldn't resist. At this point I want to give credit to GemYin, whose idea it was that Cleo is expecting a child. So a big thanks to her. Also I want to thank H2OGirl101 for reminding me that Rachel still has some unfinished business with her mother. Lastly I want to thank everyone who has been reading my stories this far.

Who is the girl that the girls saw? Enemy or ally? What is up with Rachel's necklace and where is it sending them? Can Rachel solve her problems? This and much more will be revealed this season. Please review so I know what you think.


	2. Ireland

**A/N: I'm thrilled that my first chapter already found so many readers. Thanks to all readers and reviewers. This chapter turned out a lot longer than I thought, but I don't think you'll mind, right? Now without further wait, here is chapter 2. Enjoy!**

**nextgeneration123 Now where would the fun be, if I told you. Maybe if you read the chapter you'll find out. ;)  
**

**countrybaby No Bella never met Cleo, Emma and Rikki. I started my story after season 2.  
**

****_Previously... Sarah, Amber, Emily and Rachel were celebrating their one year anniversary, when they get a vision of a girl. They try to find out who the girl is. Then Rachel's necklace gives them the location of the girl. Meanwhile Rachel thinks her mother knows more than she lets on. Now on to the chapter.  
_

Chapter 2: Ireland

Partially smirking at Amber, because it had worked, Emily said, "Looks like we're going to Ireland."

"Rockport, Ireland to be exact," Sarah pointed out, excitedly, "Great, that means we can find that person."

"Sorry to be the one to rain on your parade, but how do you intend to get there? Not like Ireland is around the corner," Rachel objected. Sarah and Emily looked at Rachel, clearly realizing that a destination didn't bring them anything, if they had no means of getting there.

"Rachel's right. Though it would be cool to swim there, it would take ages. Not to mention that we would be exhausted when we get there," Sarah admitted.

"Damn it," Emily grumbled, thoughtfully, "What now?"

Amber, who still wasn't satisfied, looked at her down friends and cursed herself. Getting up, she told them, "Stay here. I'll be right back." The girls stared at the blonde, who slammed the door shut behind her.

They exchanged a weird glance. "Any idea what that was about?" Rachel asked her friends, but they just shook their heads, just as perplexed.

Slightly annoyed Amber stormed out of Emily's house and across the lawn to her own. Stopping in front of her door, Amber took several breaths to calm herself before she entered. After a quick glance, she found the person she was looking for. Her dad. "Hey dad," Amber said in her sweetest daughter voice as she leaned from behind on the chair her dad was sitting in, "What are you up to?"

Zane closed the newspaper he was reading and looked at his daughter. "What do you want, Amber?" he asked dryly.

"I'm hurt," Amber replied, playing the innocent as she sat down in front of him, "Why do you think that I would want anything?"

"Because every time you use that tone, you want something, like a raise of your allowance," Zane retorted, "So what do you want?"

Amber frowned, but then told him, "Okay, you got me. Sarah, Emily, Rachel and I need plane tickets to Ireland."

"Ireland? What do you need tickets to Ireland for?" Zane asked, confused.

"Remember that girl I told you about? The one Rachel, Sarah, Emily and I saw in our vision. We just found out that she lives in Ireland," Amber explained.

"Listen I understand that this is important to you, but don't you think this is a bit extreme? You have no idea what awaits you there? For all you know it could be really dangerous and then you'll be in a strange country without help. I'm sorry, but I won't buy the tickets for you," Zane retorted.

"What? Dad, I'm old enough to take care of myself and I'm with my friends. Not to mention that we're not ordinary girls. We're mermaids," Amber protested, brought up, but then continued more calmly, "Like you said this is important to me, so please. Even if it is dangerous, we can't just ignore what the moon pool showed us. If we did, we would forever live in fear."

Zane stared at his daughter, astonished at the sincere and emotional speech. He rarely ever saw his daughter like this. "Oh for goodness sake, buy her the tickets," Rikki said, coming in from the kitchen, having heard everything.

"Mom," Amber whispered, while both father and daughter stared at her.

Looking at his wife, Zane sighed, "Okay, I can tell when I'm beat. You get your tickets."

Amber jumped up, beaming, "Thank you, daddy." With a hug and a peck on the cheek, Amber danced out of the house again. "

Did you have to butt in?" Zane asked his wife, "I was trying to teacher our daughter that she can't have everything she asks for."

"Oh, please. You were putty in her hands after that speech. You couldn't have turned down anything," Rikki smirked as she walked up to her husband, "Not to mention that you shouldn't meddle in mermaid affairs."

"Okay, I admit it," Zane gave in, "She knows how to get to me, our princess."

"And what am I, if Amber is the princess?" Rikki inquired, playing the hurt victim.

"You are of course the queen," Zane told her and kissed her.

* * *

Meanwhile Amber had made it back to Emily's room. "Okay, we have our flight," she smiled.

"How did you do that?" Emily questioned, perplexed.

"You just need the right connections," Amber smirked.

"Good, then we're off to Ireland," Sarah cheered.

"Actually," Rachel cut in, "I think I should stay here." Her friends stared at her, confused as Rachel continued, "How am I supposed to explain this to my mother? I think it's best if I stay here. I can keep the fort down while you're gone and help with any inquires you might have."

"I guess you're right," Sarah gave in reluctantly, sad that they wouldn't be able to go together.

Silently Rachel added in her thoughts, "I'm sorry, but if I left my mother would figure something out. Besides I can't be a lot of use anyway. Without any magic."

Amazingly Zane had been able to get three tickets very quickly and only two days later the girls were at the Gold Coast Airport, ready to face whatever fate, or possibly the moon pool, had in store for them in Ireland. They had said good bye to their families and Rachel, who they promised to keep updated. "You guys realize something?" Sarah asked as they stood in the entrance hall of the airport.

"You mean that we met here for the first time a year ago?" Amber smiled, facing her friends.

"So much has happened," Emily replied, but then looked at a clock, which hung over the entrance, "We should get going. We don't want to miss our flight."

After having passed security and hanging out in a lounge, the three mermaids boarded the plane, which soon took off. Thanks to Zane's frequent flyer miles they had even been able to fly business class. "This is so cool," Sarah mused, "I never flew before and now I get to fly business class."

"You never flew before? I've flown so many times, I can't count them all. A lot of times business class in fact," Amber replied, surprised.

"Not everyone has flown as much as you, Amber. I mean a flew a couple of times, but never business, only economy," Emily pointed out.

With the little debate on flight travel over the girls began to occupy themselves. Emily read a book, while Amber first watched the in-flight movie, but then listened to music and Sarah read a magazine. At one point Sarah put down the magazine and asked the question that had been on her mind since they had gotten on the plane, "Say Emily, why don't you tell your brother what you are?"Surprised Emily looked up from her book, while Amber pulled her headset from her ears to listen in. "I mean, your parents know and your brother is old enough to handle the responsibility of not telling anyone. Not to mention you wouldn't have to be on guard in your own house," Sarah pointed out.

Sighing Emily closed her book and explained, "I know that, it's just really different from telling mom and dad. They already knew of mermaids. Telling them didn't change their view on the world. If I told my brother, his entire world would be turned upside down. Suddenly mythical creatures, mermaids, exist." Though nobody was listening in on them, Emily said the last few words very carefully.

"Why do you ask? Is it because of your little sibling?" Amber inquired.

Sarah nodded, softly, answering, "It's just, up until now everyone in my family knew what I am. When my little brother or sister comes, how should we handle it? I mean during the first few years it'll be irrelevant, but then… Would it be better to tell him or her or to keep it a secret? To make him understand why his big sister can't go swimming with him and such."

"I can't answer that question for you. It's your secret to share. You must decide on your own, but take my advice. Wait until he or she is old enough and then see what happens," Emily retorted and Sarah nodded, understandingly.

Like that the 20 hour flight passed with the girls sleeping or keeping themselves busy. Finally they arrived in Ireland. After they collected their luggage, the girls walked into the lobby, where they came to an abrupt halt. Outside the rain was coming down hard. There was no way they could get out without turning into a mermaid, never mind hailing a cab. "Right, the weather is said not to be the best around here," Emily muttered, "Anyone got any ideas?"

"Wait until it stops?" Sarah suggested with a shrug.

Amber turned to a worked of the airport and asked, "Excuse me, do you know when the rain will let up?"

"In 1 or 2 maybe," he replied.

"Minutes?" Amber inquired, which only made the worker laugh, "Hours, but only if you're lucky."

With that Amber turned back to her friends and whispered, "I think this calls for some magic." Sarah nodded, quickly glancing around to make sure that no one was watching her and then activated her magic. Moving her hand, she willed the clouds to stop giving off rain and to do so for a few minutes.

With her handy work done, she ushered, "We have to hurry. This won't last for very long." Quickly the girls took their suitcases and found a cab.

After a half a hour drive they arrived in the small, seaside town Rockport. It looked very peaceful as they drove along the promenade to their hotel, the only hotel in the area to be exact. Up in their room, the girls unpacked. "So this is Rockport," Amber mumbled, thoughtfully, looking out the window.

"I like it," Sarah said, "It's so different from the Gold Coast. So peaceful."

"So should we go looking for that girl? I mean we only have a few days here, but I'm pretty tired," Emily asked.

"It's pretty early. We could sleep till noon or so and then go," Sarah suggested and the others agreed.

After their short nap the girls got ready to go out. "You know I just realized something," Amber said, observing the few tourists that walked about below the window.

"What?" the other two asked.

"Even if we are now Ireland, how do we find her? I mean we have no idea where this girl could be."

The other two froze. Amber was right. "You know I realized that we haven't called Rachel yet. Lets do that first," Sarah suggested and the blondes nodded.

The girls got out a phone and dialed Rachel's number. "Hey Rachel," the girls chorused on loudspeaker when their friend picked up.

"Hey guys," Rachel replied, "I take it you arrived safely in Rockport."

"You got it," Sarah said.

"So do you have any leads on where to find her?" Rachel asked, leaning back in her chair in her room.

"That's the problem. We have no clue where to start," Emily answered.

"Not that this place is that big," Amber cut in.

"Any suggestions?" Sarah questioned.

"Hm, not really, sorry," Rachel mumbled, thoughtfully, toying with her necklace, "Since Rockport isn't really big, I guess you could just go searching for her in hope of finding her."

"Seems like the only choice we have," Emily sighed.

"Don't worry. You'll find her for sure," Rachel assured her friends, "After all you are mermaids." Just then her mother came into her room. Rachel stared, praying that her mother hadn't heard the last comment. They seemed to be having a staring contest of sorts.

"Hello? Rachel you still there?" Emily's voice came out of the phone, causing the mother-daughter stare off to be interrupted. Charlotte made no notion of leaving and sat down on Rachel's bed. Rachel knew she couldn't have her mother eavesdropping on her conversation, if you could call it that, since Charlotte obviously wasn't even pretending to not listen in, nor could she send her mother out, without making herself suspicious, at least not anymore than she already was.

"Sorry guys," Rachel finally said, turning back to her phone, "I have to go."

"Is everything alright?" Sarah asked, hearing the strain in her friend's voice.

"Everything is fine. I'll talk to you later. Good luck. Bye," Rachel replied, quickly and hung up before her friends could even say good bye.

Putting her phone down, Rachel turned to her mother. "Can I help you?" Rachel asked, not making it a secret that she was not amused about her mother's behavior and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Was that your friends? Where are they that you have to call them?" Charlotte asked, a seemingly harmless question.

"If you must know, they are in Ireland," Rachel replied.

"Ireland? What are they doing there?" Charlotte inquired.

"Visiting a friend," the daughter retorted, her temper flaring up. Rachel could tell that she was close to losing it.

"And they didn't take you along?" Charlotte questioned innocently.

That did it for Rachel. "Because I don't know the friend," she snapped, but then realized what was happening to her and took a deep breath to calm herself, "Was there a reason you came in here?"

"I wanted to know if you are going to join me for dinner," Charlotte told her, completely ignoring her daughter's outburst.

"Sorry, I already ate," Rachel answered, curtly, "Now that you know that you can leave."

"Actually can I see your necklace for a moment?" the mother questioned, eying the necklace around her daughter's neck. It took all of Rachel's control to stay impartial and not protectively grab the necklace and yell at her mother to never go near it. Instead an icy minute passed before her shaking hands went to the clasp of her necklace and undid it. The overbearing presence of the magic stones immediately lessened to a feeling in her hand, like when you hold a warm object in it. Rachel held the necklace out to her mother. When Charlotte took it, the presence almost instantly vanished from her mind and it was almost a relief to not feel it for once. Charlotte stared at the necklace now in her hand. Once again Rachel caught herself wondering how much her mother really knew. Did she feel the presence too? If she did, Rachel saw no sign of it in her mother's face.

Finally Charlotte said, "They're very pretty. What kind of rocks are these? I never did ask." Rachel shrugged as her mother handed back the necklace. She suspected her mother recognized the moon pool rocks, if not at least it seemed familiar to her.

"Well then good night, Rachel," Charlotte said as she got up and left. With a sigh Rachel dropped onto her bed. She couldn't believe she had lost her temper. She rarely did and usually she regretted it afterwards. Even now Rachel regretted it, even though her mother deserved the rage directed at her. Rachel held up her necklace, staring at the three rocks. Hopefully Sarah, Amber and Emily had more luck than she did.

* * *

Meanwhile the three mermaids wandered through the streets of Rockport. Each of them had donned a rain jacket and had an umbrella in hand, in case of another downpour. After Rachel's abrupt end to their call, they had decided they could do little else than hope that fate made them stumble across that girl's path.

So far they had walked through all the streets of Rockport and along the promenade. Also they had stopped in several shops. A few times they thought they saw the girl, but each time they had been mistaken.

Frustrated Amber let herself drop into the sand with a groan. It was already late afternoon. "We've been everywhere in this town and nothing," Amber muttered, "What if she's on vacation or indoors all day?"

"We can't think like that," Sarah chided, looking out at the ocean, "We will find her. The moon pool wouldn't send us here without a reason."

"We still have tomorrow to search for her. We have to make the best of that day," Emily told them and they nodded.

Just then Sarah felt something on her rain jacket. Looking at it, she saw a raindrop. "We have to get out off here," Sarah said, "It's starting to rain."

"But where to? The hotel is too far away," Amber objected.

"Look over there. A café. We can stay there until the rain stops," Emily suggested, pointing to a shop on the promenade not far from them. Quickly the girls hurried to it and luckily just as they arrived it started to pour.

"I am really starting to hate this place," Amber muttered, looking out at the rain, "Isn't there a day that it doesn't rain?" Emily nearly began a lecture of weather in this region and the different factors which influenced this, but decided against it in the last second. No need to agitate her friend more than she already was.

"Welcome to Rockport Café. What can I get you?" someone suddenly asked the girls from behind them.

"Nothing thank you. We're just taking shelter from the…," Sarah began, but the words ebbed in her throat, when she turned around to look at the waitress. Emily turned to see why her friend had stopped talking and her mouth, like Sarah's, fell open. Amber still stared at the pouring rain, when she felt someone tug on her sleeve.

"What…," Amber started annoyed, but then she also stared, wide eyed and mouth ajar. There standing before them stood the girl from their vision.

The waitress shrank back a little under the stares of the three girls. "Is something the matter?" she asked, timidly, "Is something on my face?"

"We need to talk to you," Amber finally said.

"Ah, sure. What about?" the waitress questioned.

"What do you know about mermaids?" Sarah inquired and the girl's eyes widened noticeably.

"I'm sorry. I can't help you with that," the waitress replied, taking a step backwards, "Excuse me. I have other customers to take care of. If you wish take a seat somewhere." With that the waitress ran back into the crowded café.

Amber was about to run after her, but her friends held her back. "Now is not the time," Emily told her, softly.

"But she knows something," Amber objected.

"And she'll still know it when her shift is over. We'll wait for her until then," Sarah said, firmly and Amber reluctantly nodded.

"Looks like it stopped raining. We shouldn't alarm her more than we already did. Lets wait outside somewhere," Emily suggested and the others agreed.

Walking back across the street to the beach, the girls made sure to steer clear of any puddles. Suddenly a girl ran past them, bumping into Sarah while doing so. Luckily Emily was able to catch Sarah before she fell into a puddle. "Hey! Get back here and apologize!" Amber called after the blonde, but she just kept running.

"Leave her. It must be important, if she's in such a hurry. Besides nothing happened," Sarah replied, laying a calming on her friend.

"She was still rude," Amber grumbled, but walked on anyway.

After Amber had dried a bench, they sat down and waited. It seemed like they waited for hours, but in reality it was probably only one or two. They busied themselves with various topics of conversation, but at some point they just went quiet and waited.

They were ready to go back to the hotel, when Emily spied the girl coming out of the café. "She's done," Emily told her friends while elbowing Amber carefully into the ribs, since she had been close to falling asleep. The girls watched as the waitress, nervously looking around, walked towards the beach. She didn't seem them. Quietly the three mermaids followed her, waiting for a good moment to make their presence known. At last they were far enough from the town and any humans to approach her.

"Excuse me," Emily finally said, causing the waitress to whip around, her eyes widening when she saw the three again.

"You…," she stammered, "What do you want from me?"

"We already told you what we want," Amber reminded her, "We want to know what you know about mermaids."

"I already told you that I don't know anything," the waitress protested, taking a step back.

"We know that that's not true," Sarah retorted, calmly.

"Listen no matter how many times you ask, I don't know anything," the waitress told them, though it was more a weak protest than anything else.

"You sure about that?" Amber asked in a threatening voice.

"Don't even think about it, Amber. We're not hurting anyone," Emily reprimanded her friend.

Suddenly Sarah exclaimed, "Emily watch out!" Unknowingly the quartette had moved closer to the water and a wave was coming towards Emily, who was closest to the water. Without thinking Emily used her magic to freeze the wave in its tracks, shortly before it hit her knees. The waitress stared at wave and then at the three girls, who had taken several steps away from the water.

"What are you?" she asked, stammering.

The mermaids looked at each other and nodded in a silent agreement. "You'll probably not believe this, but we're mermaids," Sarah confessed.

The waitress' eyes scanned them from head to toe before she whispered, "You're mermaids?" The three nodded. Finally she continued, "This is not the place for this. See that cliff over there out by the ocean? If you are really mermaids, you'll find me. We'll meet there." She pointed into the direction of a cliff in the distance before she walked off, leaving the three mermaids behind.

Amber, Sarah and Emily stared at each other, perplexed. "What was that?" Amber asked.

"I have no idea, but I guess we should go to that cliff," Sarah replied with a shrug.

"But where? She didn't exactly give us much to go on," Emily pointed out. They stood there for a moment.

"It's-It's a moon pool," Sarah suddenly stammered, making her friends look at her.

"What?" the blondes questioned.

"Over there in the direction that the girl pointed, I can feel a moon pool. Or at least a very similar presence to Claire's and our moon pool," Sarah explained, "Can't you feel it?" Looking hard to the cliff, the blondes had to agree with Sarah.

"Then lets see if you're right," Amber said and they dove into the water. They quickly arrived at the cliff's side and found a opening to go under it. Surfacing they gasped. They were in a cave that had the same blue walls as their own moon pool and of course a pool of water. To one side the cave wall was gone, giving view to a beautiful ocean scenery. "This place is amazing," Sarah gasped. The other two could only nod.

"You think we're right? She doesn't seem to be here," Emily asked, doubtfully.

"She has to come. I can't imagine what else she could have meant," Amber objected.

"Don't worry. You're correct here," the voice of the waitress rang through the cave, making the mermaids turn to the entrance of the cave on land, "You really are mermaids." She smiled with relief.

"And what are you? How do you know of this place?" Amber demanded.

"It called me to it," the waitress explained and dove into the moon pool. The girls stared at the spot where she had disappeared. When she resurfaced, Emily's, Sarah's and Amber's jaw nearly dropped to the bottom of the pool. In front of them was the waitress now in the same signature bronze bikini top and fin made of scales as their own. "

You're a mermaid," Sarah muttered and the girl nodded.

"I'm sorry, if I was unfriendly earlier, but I'm sure you understand why," the waitress told them and the others nodded, "I'm Taylor, by the way."

"I'm Emily. This is Amber and Sarah," Emily introduced them, pointing to her friends respectively when she said their name.

"How did you know I was a mermaid?" Taylor asked, "No one has figured it yet."

"Actually we didn't know," Amber spoke up, "A few days ago our moon pool in Australia showed us a vision of you and shortly after that where you were. We decided to come looking for you."

"So you came looking for me, half way around the world, though you have no reason why. You didn't even know if I was home," Taylor pointed out and the others nodded.

"That about sums it up," Emily replied, "That doesn't sound any smarter now than it did before we came, even though we now found you."

"May I ask, what powers do you have? I mean you froze the water," Taylor asked.

"Sure. Well, like you said I can freeze water and create snow and such," Emily began and Sarah continued, "I have the ability to control water and the wind."

"And I can boil water and create lightning and fire," Amber ended, "So which power do you have?"

"None," Taylor replied.

"What do you mean none? Everyone has one," Emily asked. "I mean that I have none of those. Let me show you."

Taylor stretched her hand out, her hand wide open as if she was holding a huge doorknob. With her palm upward she did a turning motion and the water in front of them in a small hole turned into gelatin. Emily leaned forward to stare at it and poke it. "Gelatin," she muttered and Taylor nodded.

Now it turned back to water. "I can turn water into gelatin, but it will turn back to water after a while or I can make it permanently solid," Taylor explained.

"Amazing. So different moon pools grant different powers," Sarah said.

"So how long have you been mermaids?" Taylor inquired, curiously.

"For a bit more than a year," Emily answered, "What about you?"

Meekly Taylor answered, a bit embarrassed, "For about 10 years."

"Ten years!" the three mermaids exclaimed. They had thought that their year as a mermaid had been an eternity, but Taylor's ten years made their time disappear in comparison.

"So you've been a mermaid alone for 10 years now?" Amber questioned.

"Yes. Back when I was 7 I went for a walk in the fields above the cliff here. Suddenly I felt something calling me. It didn't really call, but it was a force that pulled me to a hole in the cliff. The hole leads to the entrance that I entered through before. I felt so at home here for some reason. I played in this cave for hours and didn't realize that it had become night. All of the sudden the moon pool began to glow as the full moon appeared overhead. As you know it turned me into a mermaid. Since then I've been keeping it a secret," Taylor told them.

"And no one ever found out?" Sarah asked to which Taylor shook her head.

They talked for a long time about their different stories. Sarah, Amber and Emily told of their mothers, Rachel and the two close battles that they had. Taylor preferred to listen, but told a bit of her life as a lone mermaid and how she had fooled everyone into believing that she was still normal.

At last the sun had fallen and darkness had set on Rockport. "You should go back to your hotel now. It's going to start raining soon," Taylor told them.

"How do you know that?" Emily asked, looking at the cloudy sky, which looked no different than the other times she had seen it.

"You could say that living in Ireland as a mermaid you either learn to feel the change in the weather or you're exposed," Taylor told them, "I guess it's like when people say a body part hurts when it becomes cold or something, but in my case I just feel it."

"Amazing," Sarah whispered.

"How do you do it? I mean with so much rain, it doesn't seem like you can go anywhere," Amber questioned.

"You should see my attendance record. It's pretty bad, because of the rain here, but if it's an important day, like when there's a test, I go in full rain gear. Though that sometimes doesn't mean I make it there dry," Taylor said.

"Don't your parents wonder why you have so many skipped classes?" Emily inquired.

Taylor paused for a second, looking out at the ocean before answering, "They don't seem to mind. As long as my grades are good, which they are, and I don't collect too many of them, they don't say anything."

"Lucky you," Amber muttered.

"Anyway you should get going. The rain is nearly here," Taylor told them, going back to their original subject.

"What about you?" Sarah asked.

"I live nearby, so you don't have to worry," Taylor assured them. With a goodbye the three friends swam away, leaving Taylor behind. "They're really interesting," she whispered.

Just as Taylor had predicted it soon started to rain, but luckily Sarah, Emily and Amber had made it back to the hotel in time. "That was close," Amber muttered, looking out the window at the rain, "She really can feel the rain."

"Well if you lived here you would feel the need to feel rain coming too. We should consider ourselves lucky that we live in Australia," Sarah said, joining her friend at the window.

"Taylor made a valid point," Emily mumbled, making her friends look their friend, who was laying on her bed, "The moon pool send us here, but why? Just to meet her? There has to be more."

"Even if you say that it doesn't seem like there's a conspiracy here. Taylor seems really nice," Amber pointed out, "We should be glad that we don't have to face a crazed person, or a mermaid hunter perhaps."

"I know, but where is the logic in it all?" Emily questioned.

"We're mermaids. Tell me what part of that is logical?" Amber retorted.

"Stop it, you guys," Sarah intercepted them, "What if we invite Taylor to come to Australia with us? I mean she does have vacation like us right now."

"That's a great idea. We can ask her tomorrow," Emily smiled. Tired from their long, but successful day the girls were soon asleep.

The next day the three made their way to the address that Taylor had given them. They soon stood at a fenced in family house. It had a beautiful garden around it. Like Taylor had said it was on the outskirts of Rockport and thus very close to the moon pool. They walked up to the door and rang the bell. A moment later an older women, who had a similarity to Taylor. The woman eyed the trio before asking, "Yes, what can I do for you?"

"We're friends of Taylor's. Is she home?" Emily told her.

"Taylor, you have visitors!" the woman called over her shoulder and then turned back to the girls, "I'm Taylor's mom. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Just then Taylor came downstairs. Seeing her fellow mermaids, she smiled. "Mom, theses are my friends Amber, Emily and Sarah," she introduced them, "You guys this is my mother, Bella. Come in." Taylor led the three upstairs into her bedroom. It was a pretty plain room with the typical furniture like a bed, desk, etc. Sarah smiled, looking out the window. From there she could see the cliff, where the moon pool was situated.

Once everyone was settled Taylor asked, "So what do I owe the pleasure to?"

"As you know we're going to be flying back to Australia tomorrow morning," Emily began, not sure how to ask the question as Taylor just nodded.

"What we're trying to ask, if you would want to come with us," Sarah continued, "To Australia."

Taylor stared at them. Taylor rung for words for a moment before whispering, "I'm sorry. I have to decline." She looked to the side.

"Why?" Amber demanded to know.

"It's just that I don't think my parents can afford it. Plus I still have my shifts at the café and homework that I still need to do," Taylor explained.

The three mermaids looked at her, a bit disappointed. "That's okay, I guess," Emily said, "Will we meet again tonight and at least say good bye to one another?"

"No, sorry. I have another shift," Taylor muttered, her head low, "I hope that you found what you were looking for and that you have a good flight. Call me when you are back." The trio took it as their sign to leave and gave Taylor a quick goodbye. Opening the door, they ran into Bella, who had a tray of cookies and juice. The girls walked past her and Bella just stared after them.

Bella walked up to her daughter, placing the tray on the table. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop," she said, "Why don't you go with them? I know we're not rich, but our financial situation is that bad. If you want, you can go. Besides even the manager said that you have been taking so many shifts, that you could take vacation for a while."

Bella moved over to Taylor, but Taylor shot up and walked to the door. "I'm going out," Taylor mumbled and walked out.

* * *

The next day Sarah, Emily and Amber had taken a taxi to the airport. "So you think that we found what we were looking for?" Sarah questioned, thoughtfully. What Taylor had said hadn't left her head.

"I don't know," Emily muttered.

"And we never will," Amber muttered, still annoyed at Taylor, "Unless the moon pool starts to talk. Come on. It's no use crying over spilled milk. We'll only miss our plane."

They started to head for the check in counter when someone exclaimed, "Wait you guys!" Turning around, they were faced with a red faced and out of breath Taylor.

"Taylor? What are you doing here?" Sarah asked, confused as much as the other two.

"I want to apologize for yesterday. I was out of line," Taylor replied.

"Is that all?" Amber asked, her voice still slightly icy.

"No. I've decided to go to Australia with you. Not on this flight, but I will follow you in a day or two," Taylor told them.

"That's great," Emily smiled, "Are you sure about this?"

"As sure as I will ever be," Taylor assured her, though it still sounded a bit unsure, "You should get going though. You'll miss your flight."

After a group hug and a pleasant farewell, Taylor waved as Emily, Sarah and Amber disappeared behind the security. Taylor's smile immediately vanished. "I really hope this was the right decision," she whispered as she turned back to leave. As expected it was raining. Was this a bad omen?

**A/N: **The girls have found Taylor, but does that mean everything is smooth sailing from now on? Why did Taylor suddenly change her mind? How will Rachel react to meeting Taylor? Is the rain really a bad omen? Please review.


	3. Oh Brother

**A/N: Sadly school started again, but I'll try to update as much as possible. Thanks to all those who read and reviewed. Here is chapter 3. Enjoy!  
**

**nextgeneration123 that is an interesting idea. What would these powers entail?  
**

****_Previously... The three mermaids to to Ireland to find the girl from their vision. They find her, discovering that she has a different power, and ask her to come to Australia. In the beginning she declines, but then changes her mind. Meanwhile Rachel tries to keep her suspicious mother at bay. Now on to the chapter.  
_

Chapter 3: Oh Brother

"Come on, tell me more about the girl from our vision," Rachel pleaded, playfully, as she sat down in Emily's kitchen, "I mean the girl is coming today and you haven't told me anything besides the fact that she works at a café." The three mermaids exchanged a smile. They hadn't intentionally not told Rachel anything. Having only returned two days prior, they had had little time to do anything. They had told their parents the news and they were just as thrilled as their daughters.

"Her name is Taylor Benjamin and she's really nice," Sarah began.

"That's all? You invite her just because of that?" Rachel questioned, not buying it.

"And she's a mermaid," Emily ended, "She has the power to turn water into jelly." Those words hit Rachel like an avalanche. That girl was a mermaid. Her insides twisted a bit and an uneasy feeling flooded her. The three mermaids eyed their friend for a reaction.

Finally Rachel took all her acting skills, put on a fake smiled and lied, "That's great. I can't wait to meet her. Where will she be staying?" Rachel couldn't tell them how she really felt, not with them smiling like that.

"Since Cleo's pretty late in her pregnancy we thought we shouldn't bother her too much and Amber's dad had the guest bedroom turned into a makeshift office, Taylor will stay with me," Emily explained.

"What about you're brother?" Rachel asked.

"We're introducing Taylor as a distant relative on Emily's mother's side, so there shouldn't be a problem," Amber answered.

"And how did he take the news?" Rachel inquired.

"Pretty normal for the fact that some distant relative he never heard of is suddenly taking over the house," Emily told her, "Not like we told him she's a mermaid."

"We still have some time before Taylor arrives so maybe we should go see Ryan and the others. They weren't exactly please that we blew them off by going to Ireland," Sarah suggested. The others agreed and left.

* * *

Taylor stared out of the window of the plane. Before her stretched the Gold Coast airport with the glistening down on the runway, not a cloud insight. The flight had been long and she was exhausted, but at the same time she was excited. She was really here. What also pleased her was the fact that she felt not the slightest hint of rain in the area. It was almost weird. "It's going to take a bit to get used to this," she thought as she finally got up from her seat to follow the string of people exiting the aircraft.

After having gone through security, Taylor looked around for the right conveyer belt. As always the time it had taken to get though security was long and the luggage from her flight was already doing turns around the track. Plenty of the bags had already reunited with their owners and so Taylor thought she would quickly get her bag and meet Sarah, Emily and Amber. However her suitcase didn't show in any of the several rounds that Taylor had watched.

With a slight uneasy feeling Taylor's eyes wondered to the screen. As she feared the unloading had been completed. With a sigh Taylor walked over to a counter where two friendly employees greeted her. "Excuse me, it seems my suitcase isn't here," Taylor told them and handed them her travel papers.

One of the workers turned to a computer and began typing rapidly. "I'm sorry to say that your luggage does not appear to have made the trip," the worker replied, sincerely.

"What? Where is it?" Taylor questioned, brought up.

"I'm sorry, miss, but I'm not sure. If you leave us your address and number we'll call you once it has arrived." Taylor took several deep breaths to fight back the panic that was rising inside her. She didn't even know Emily's, or any of the mermaids addresses, for that matter. That was all in her suitcase.

With a sigh Taylor gave them her number and made her way through customs to lobby, where she would find the mermaid trio waiting for. Or so she hoped, but when she walked out into the lobby she saw many people, but not the three mermaids. Desperately she whipped her head around, dangerously close to getting a whiplash, but no matter how many times she turned, she didn't find them.

"Why aren't they here?" Taylor wondered, "I'm not early? Maybe their bus is late or something?" Then her gaze fell on a clock on the wall. It said 12, but Taylor clearly remembered telling the three mermaids that her plane would land at 4. Realization hit her hard. She had miscalculated her flight and given Emily the wrong arrival time. They thought she wasn't due for another 4 hours.

Luckily Taylor, like every other teenager nowadays, owned a cell phone and in it she had Emily's number. Quickly she got it out, but no matter how much she tried, the screen stayed black. It was out of battery. This really wasn't her day. She cursed the person whose idea it was to have a MP3 player and cell phone in one and herself for listening to music during the whole flight. She could look them up in a phonebook, but she didn't know their last names or they were lost in the mist of panic for the moment.

With a sigh Taylor sunk down onto a bench. "I guess this means waiting," she muttered, resting her forehead in her palms, her elbows on her knees.

The clicking of a camera made her look up. A guy with blond hair and blue eyes was the cameramen. He seemed slightly older than her, probably in college. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. It's just it's a beautiful picture," he explained, slightly babbling.

"It's alright. You didn't startle me," Taylor replied, waving off his attempts of an apology, "Though I can't see how it could possibly be a good picture."He sat down next to her and showed the picture to her on the small display on the camera, which was a pretty expensive one from what Taylor could tell. Looking at the display, she had to admit he was right. The sun shining down on her hair, which is cascading down her back, gave off a sad, yet beautiful aura. "Okay, I admit you were right. It's really beautiful."

"Thank you," he smiled, "If I'm not being too blunt, can I ask why you are so sad?"

"I gave my friends the wrong time and I have means to contact them, so I guess I'm stuck here until 4," Taylor told him, "Not to mention my suitcase is somewhere in the world."

"Well, I can't help with either of those things, but I can offer you a drink at the café over there," he offered, getting up and reaching his hand out to her.

Taylor looked at the hand, contemplating whether or not she should accept. She normally was pretty shy around guys, but this guy was different from any of the boys she met before. Still she didn't know what to do. "I don't know…," she began, softly, but the guy interrupted, "Please. I promise I won't bite."

With a laugh Taylor took his hand, replying, "Well if that's the case, I guess I have nothing to fear. I'm Taylor from Ireland, by the way."

"James. From the Gold Coast, believe it or not," he introduced himself as he led her through the crowded lobby.

After they had sat down in a booth in the café with their drinks, Taylor asked, "So James from the Gold Coast, why are you at the airport? It doesn't seem like you were waiting for someone."

"I was taking some pictures of different of the airport, mostly of people," James answered.

"So you're a photographer," Taylor concluded.

"No, photography is just a hobby. I study at the college in the Gold Coast," James explained, "And what about you, Taylor from Ireland? Why make the long trip?"

"I'm here to visit some friends," Taylor replied. She knew Emily and the others are planning on introducing her as a relative, but with James it didn't matter what she told him.

* * *

"Hey guys!" the girls called as they walked up to them on the beach in front of Lewis' old beach house, waving. Emily and Sarah gave Daniel and Ryan a kiss, but when Amber tried Jordan dodged it.

"What? Are you still mad?" she asked.

"You blew off our date to fly to Ireland," Jordan retorted.

"Oh come on. It was important," Amber protested.

"Mermaid things are always more important than us," Jordan snapped.

"Don't be like that. You know it paid off," Daniel said, but Jordan stormed off towards the water, ignoring him.

Amber simply looked after him. "You should go after him," Sarah told her.

"Why? I did nothing wrong," Amber objected.

"Geez, you two can be such kids at times," Emily muttered, "Come on, Amber. Jordan is just unhappy that he couldn't spend time with you. That can't be a crime." Amber grumbled something under her breath, but walked over to Jordan anyway.

"Jordan…," she began as she stepped behind him, but he interrupted, "I'm not some puppy dog like Daniel or Ryan, who doesn't care if he's set up."

"Listen, I'm sorry, but it really was important," Amber replied, "Is there anyway I can make it up to you, besides of course going on a make-up date?"

Jordan smiled, devilishly, "There is." Suddenly he grabbed Amber by the wrist and pulled her forward, so that she stumbled forward into the water.

True to herself, 10 seconds later Amber transformed into a mermaid. "I'll get you for this," Amber growled, glaring at him.

If looks could kill, but Jordan just ignored it and walked off, saying, "I'd like to see you try."

"Just you wait," Amber muttered as she slowly pulled herself out of the water, so that she could dry herself.

Rachel had stepped off to the side. Sadly Alex's exchange had come to an end some time ago and he had gone back to their hometown. Of course they stayed in contact and talked at least every second day on the phone. So now she watched as Amber chased Jordan along the beach as the others watched with a smile on their faces. A small smile also tweaked at Rachel's lips, but the notion of the Irish mermaid quickly diminished it.

Finally Amber had calmed down and had returned to the group. "So the new mermaid is coming soon?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, she's arriving at 4. We should start heading over there at some point," Emily answered.

"So you're ditching us again?" Jordan pointed out, jokingly.

"Don't you dare start again," Amber shot at him, still slightly mad.

"Anyway, you are aware that there is a full moon tonight, right?" Ryan asked, trying to get back on subject, "Was it really a smart idea of her to travel today?"

"We know, but Taylor said it was fine. We already have everything ready for tonight. Besides we'll definitely be inside by the time the full moon rises," Sarah assured them.

"She isn't afraid of the full moon?" Daniel questioned, curiously.

"What's the worst that could happen with her powers? She turns all the water in the radius of one mile into jelly?" Jordan joked.

"We'll see how funny you find it when it really happens," Rachel retorted.

"I guess we should head to the airport slowly," Emily told them, checking her watch. The girls gave their boyfriends a kiss before departing.

* * *

Meanwhile Taylor and James had gone back to the airport after they had gone to the café and later the park. "Thank you for an enjoyable day, but I don't want to take up anymore of your time," Taylor told him.

"It was my pleasure. I'm glad I was able to make your first few hours in the Gold Coast fun," James smiled, "I hope I can see you again."

"Yeah, that would be nice," Taylor replied.

"Here, type in your number," James said as he handed her his phone.

After Taylor had entered her number, she answered, "I would want to have yours, but my batteries are dead." He took her phone from her hand and examined it. With smirk he popped open the lid of her cell phone, replacing the battery with his own. Seconds later her phone sprang to life.

"Here you go," James said, handing back her phone after having typed in his number, "You can give me that back, when we meet again."

"You just want to make sure that we meet again," Taylor accused.

"Maybe," James smirked as he turned, "See you soon, Taylor from Ireland."

With that he left. Taylor only stared after him and whispered, "Until we meet again, James from the Gold Coast." Taylor sat down and waited for the mermaids to show.

"Taylor!" a call made her look up to see four girls coming up to her, the stranger staying behind. The three mermaids gave their friend a hug. "What are you doing here already?" Emily asked, looking at your watch, "You shouldn't land for a while."

"Long story short, I accidentally gave you the wrong time, have been here since 12, my phone was dead, luckily it's charged now and my suitcase is m.i.a," Taylor recapped quickly, making the girls stare.

"Anyway this is the friend we told you about, Rachel," Sarah said and gestured towards Rachel, "Rachel this is Taylor."

Rachel stepped forward, eying Taylor. Unwillingly she felt jealousy come up inside her. So this was the girl that was replacing her. A real mermaid with a cool power and not some human, whose only way to be extraordinary was through a necklace, which had it's magic from the other three. How could she ever compete with that?

Taylor reached her hand out, smiling, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rachel. I've heard quite a bit about you."

Reluctantly Rachel took the hand, replying, "Me too."

"Then I guess we should head home. The sooner we're off the streets, the better I feel about the full moon," Emily said.

Taylor looked at them confused. "You mean to say that you're effected by the full moon?" she asked.

"You mean to say you aren't?" Amber retorted, making Taylor shake her head.

"I haven't been effected by the moon for quite a few years," Taylor explained.

"That's amazing," the three mermaids gasped as Rachel only thought, "Of course, she's not effected by the moon. She's too perfect for that."

The girls had walked a bit from the airport, talking animatedly, when they heard someone call, "Rachel!" They turned to see Charlotte running up to them. Inside Rachel's whole domineer became one of contempt, but outside she just smiled. "What are you doing here? Who is this?" Charlotte asked, eying the stranger.

"This is Taylor, mom. She is Emily's relative," Rachel explained, "We just picked her up from the airport."

"Oh, the one from Ireland, right?" Charlotte replied, a slight tone in her voice, "A pleasure."

"Same," Taylor smiled.

"Don't you have somewhere to be, mom?" Rachel asked, slightly hinting in an undertone.

"Right," Charlotte answered, "Good bye."

The girls watched Charlotte leave as an awkward silence spread out. Suddenly a cell phone rang, making each girl whip out their phone. It was Taylor's. "Hello… Really? You found my suitcase already. That's great… No, I'll get it myself… Thank you," Taylor said and then hung up, "They found my suitcase and it's at the airport."

"That's great, but the moon is rising soon," Emily replied.

"You can go home. I can go get it myself," Taylor assured them.

"But will you find the way?" Sarah asked, "Rachel, can't you go with Taylor?"

"Ah, sure," Rachel answered, slightly uncomfortable.

"Okay, then we'll meet you at my house," Emily said as the three mermaids walked off towards one direction, while Rachel and Taylor went to the other.

A while later they were back here with Taylor's suitcase. The two walked beside each other in silence. Finally Taylor broke it by stating, "I don't intend on replacing you. From what Sarah, Amber and Emily told me, I can tell they care about you greatly."

Rachel abruptly stopped, looking at the mermaid. "Was I being that obvious? I'm sorry. Please I don't mean…," Rachel began, but Taylor interrupted her, "You weren't. I just have very acute senses." "You must think I'm completely crazy for being so freaked out," Rachel assumed.

"Not at all. Though I obviously can't say I was in your position before, I understand what it means to be replaced," Taylor told her, "As a mermaid you give up a lot."

Rachel nodded, whispering, "I know."

Again silence came back, but it was once more interrupted by Taylor asking, "Can I ask a question?"

"You already did," Rachel smirked, making them laugh.

"Why does your mom hate Sarah and the rest, or does she not even know that they're mermaids?" Taylor asked, causing Rachel to abruptly stop laughing, "Sorry. It's just I saw how you acted. The others don't know."

"A long story short, my mom was once a mermaid along with the previous mermaids, but it got to her head and she was forced to lose her powers. Obviously she isn't so happy about my friend choices nor does she know that they are mermaids," Rachel explained, softly.

"That's why there's tension between you," Taylor concluded and Rachel nodded, "Please don't let it get between you."

For some reason it snapped Rachel. "What do you know about torn families? You have a perfect life. I can't tell my mother anything without fearing what could happen!" Rachel snapped, glad she could finally let of steam.

"You're right. I don't know about that," Taylor gave in, surprising Rachel. Her rage subsided slightly.

"Can I tell you something?" Taylor asked and Rachel nodded, "You must promise not to tell anyone, not even Amber or the others."

"I promise," Rachel whispered.

"My current parents aren't my real ones. I was adopted," Taylor said, amazingly calm for such a declaration.

"I'm so sorry," Rachel muttered, now ashamed of her outburst.

"Don't be," Taylor replied.

"What about your real parents?" Rachel inquired, "If that's okay."

"It is. I don't know. My mother left shortly after giving birth to me, leaving me and my dad. He was an alcoholic, but always kind. I don't know why, but one day I was brought to the foster home. I never saw or heard from him again. I lived there, moving from foster family to family, until I was 10 and my dad's sister appeared out of the blue and adopted me," Taylor told her, "They don't know I'm a mermaid." Rachel was amazed how collected Taylor could tell such a story.

"Why don't you want to tell the others?" Rachel inquired. "I don't want to be pitied," Taylor explained, "I know you won't. What about your dad?" "My parents are divorced. It's been many years. They split in unison and their relationship isn't bad. I see him often enough," Rachel told her. Strangely enough after this talk, Rachel felt closer to Rachel

Again they fell into silence until they reached Emily's house. "Here we are," Rachel proclaimed.

"Remember. Not a word," Taylor reminded her and Rachel nodded. They walked up the walkway and entered the house. In the kitchen they found all three families, all there, except for Emily's brother.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Taylor," the Irish girl introduced herself.

"So you're Taylor. We heard so much about you," Cleo said with a smile. The adults were all introduced and immediately the questioning began. About her life, her mermaid being. Taylor, though feeling a bit cramped, was happy to finally find people that knew of her other half.

"So why did you suddenly decide to come?" Emma asked.

"My mother convinced me," Taylor replied, vaguely.

"We're glad she did," Rikki smiled.

"Don't forget that the full moon is rising soon. Get into your rooms soon," Cleo warned the girls, who nodded.

Just then they heard a door close. "That must be my brother. I can't wait for you to meet him," Emily said, looking up. A few moments later he stood in the door. Upon seeing him, Taylor's eyes widened and her jaw dropped to the ground. This couldn't be happening.

"Is that her?" he asked, motioning towards her.

"Yeah, that's Taylor," Emily introduced.

"Hello Taylor from Ireland," the brother smiled. Before Taylor stood James.

**A/N: **Taylor has found a liking to Emily's brother. How will it end? Who are Taylor's real parents? What will the full moon bring? Please review.


	4. Lies

**A/N: School can be really brutal, but luckily I'm going on a class trip for a week soon. Thus I can't guarantee when the next chapter will come out. Who knows maybe I'll get some good inspiration. So please be patient. Thanks or reading and reviewing. Here is chapter 4. Enjoy!**

**Marril96 Thank you. It means a lot to hear that my writing is improving.  
**

****_Previously... Taylor has arrived in Australia, but due to a mistake she is too early. At the airport she meets James and they immediately hit it off. Then the other arrive. Meanwhile Rachel is jealous of Taylor, who tells her that she can't be replace. Also Taylor finds out about Rachel's issues with her mother. At Emily's house Taylor meets Emily's brother, giving her a bad surprise. Now on to the chapter._

Chapter 4: Lies

Before Taylor stood James. Time seemed to stop as she stared at him, her eyes wide. What was she supposed to do? Admit they had met at the airport and that she liked him? Liked her friend's brother? Or should she just pretend that the past few hours had never happened? Could she do that?

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Taylor said, "It's nice to meet you. You must be Emily's brother."

"Yes, my name is James," James replied and he reached out his hand for her to shake. Taylor contemplated whether or not to take it, but in the end chose to, since it made little difference now. "Have we met before?" he asked, acting as though he was inspecting her appearance, not letting go off her hand.

This was the last chance, Taylor realized. Either she said yes and told the truth, or she declined and added another lie to her long list of untruths. "No, I don't think we have. I've been in Ireland all my life," Taylor answered with a small smile, "So unless you've been to Ireland, I don't think we have." Another lie. Mentally it laid itself down with all the others.

"Sadly I haven't. Maybe I'll visit one day," James replied, nonchalant, but his eyes told her that he was hurt. Taylor forced herself to ignore his gaze and looked away.

"Well I guess that we should go eat dinner. We don't want to impose on you any longer," Cleo said, looking at her watch.

"Same here," Rikki added. Everyone there, except for James, knew that it was an excuse to get the girls into the barricaded rooms before the full moon rose. The McCartneys and the Bennetts left.

"I should go upstairs too. I have some school work to take care of," Emily lied and turned to Taylor, "Why don't I show you your room?" Taylor just nodded, picked up her bag and followed her. She looked back one last time to gaze at James before following Emily up the stairs.

As they passed several doors Emily indicated to each with a short word of what was hidden behind them. "And this is your room," Emily said when they finally stopped at the end of the hallway, "Mine's right next door so if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Taylor nodded as she put suitcase on the bed.

It was a nice, cozy room with the standard furniture. Just like Emily's window, hers also faced Mako. "It's really nice," Taylor smiled.

"I'm glad you like it. So do you want to come over into my room for a bit longer?" Emily questioned.

"No, thank you," Taylor replied with a yawn, "I'm pretty tired from the flight and all."

"Okay, good night then," Emily said, leaving the room.

"Be careful," Taylor answered as the door closed.

With a sigh Taylor flopped down on the bed. "It wasn't a complete lie," she reasoned with herself quietly, as though it was possible that someone might overhear her. Indeed she was tired, but other things took precedence to that. Not to mention that the full moon was going to rise any minute and she knew from past experiences that once the moon was up mermaids went to bed in hope of not getting moonstruck. Another person in the room would only be a risk.

However the most important reason was just a few doors down. Slowly Taylor's arm snaked to her backpack, which laid next to her and she pulled out her cell phone. With a grim expression she popped open the lid and took out the battery. His battery, it shot through her head. "No," she thought, shaking her head, "There is no other choice."

Taylor got up, exited her room and walked down the hall. She stopped at the door furthest down. It was James'. Taking a deep breath, she knocked. "Come in," James said and Taylor opened the door to find him lying on his bed, looking at photographs in his hand. He seemed surprised to see her. Not knowing how to start Taylor let her eyes sweep the room. It was a simple room, but one thing that stood out was a wall covered in photos, most likely all taken by him. They showed his family, friends, various sceneries and many other things.

Finally her gaze fell back on James, who looked at her with anticipation. "Here is your battery," Taylor said, slightly uncomfortable as she reached it out to him, but making sure not to meet his gaze, "Who would have thought we would again meet like this?" The small joke was easily drowned by tension in the room.

Silently he accepted the battery. "Thanks for lending it to me. I should go," Taylor babbled on and turned to the door, but suddenly James asked, "Why did you lie?" The neutral voice made Taylor stop with the doorknob in hand, staring at the door.

"This can't work out. We related," Taylor told him, not being able to bring herself to look at him.

"We're distant relatives," James objected, getting up from his bed, "Like that makes a difference."

"Then how about the fact that you're my friend's brother?" Taylor demanded to know, turning around, "It might not matter to you, but to me. Do you know how Emily will react?"

"I don't, but why should that stop us?" he questioned, stepping up behind, forcing Taylor to bump into the door.

"Because I don't want to lie to her," Taylor told him.

James stared into Taylor's eyes, causing her to fidget nervously. Finally he turned away and sat down on his bed again. "I'll give you yours back tomorrow. Night," James said, motioning towards the battery.

"Thanks for understanding. Good night," Taylor whispered and quickly fled the room with tears in her eyes.

Quietly she walked downstairs and into the backyard. Luckily she didn't meet anyone. Outside Taylor took several deep breaths to calm herself. She didn't want to, but there was no other way. Finally she looked up to see one of the most beautiful sights that she had ever seen. Right in front of her Mako Island could be seen, illuminated by the full moon right overhead. She could feel the magic radiating from there, so powerful, yet soothing. Staring at the view in front of her, Taylor whispered, "Is this really alright?" An almost eerie feeling befell her as just stood there.

Taylor didn't know how long she stared at the spectacle, but when she finally turned to go back inside, the moon was no longer over Mako and the magical feeling was gone. Exhausted from the long day she retired to bed.

When Taylor walked downstairs the next day it was already close to noon, but Emily was still in the kitchen. "Good morning. So how are things?" Taylor asked as Emily put a bowl of cereal in front of her.

"Good so far. I didn't get moonstruck," Emily answered, "Though I don't know about the others. I guess we'll find out once we head to Mako. We're going to show you the moon pool today."

"Sounds great," Taylor smiled.

"I'll go get changed," Emily excused herself and went upstairs.

Taylor had already dressed so that she had the time for breakfast. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice someone else was in the kitchen until a battery was held under her nose. Startled she jumped back, knocking over her chair. Taylor looked up to see James. "Wow, I didn't mean to startle you like that," he said, looking at her.

"I was just thinking," Taylor replied, taking the battery from his hand, "Thanks." She intended to pick up her chair, but the way James stared at her told her that there was more coming and she forced herself to stay still.

"Why did you lie?" he finally inquired.

Confused Taylor looked at him. "I already told you. Emily is your…," she began, but James interrupted, "Not that. Back at the airport you said you were visit friends, not relatives."

The slip-up hit her like a landslide. Damn, he listened well. What now? Taylor took a deep breath and replied, "I find it hard to call Emily and the rest of your family, because this is the first time I met you. So Emily, Sarah and Amber are more friends than anything else."

"I see," James muttered, thoughtfully.

"Everything alright here?" a voice suddenly asked, making them turn to the door. There stood Emily, now fully clothed, staring at the two.

"Everything's fine," Taylor quickly answered, walking over to her, "Lets go. The others are waiting." Emily gave James a confused look before being pulled out of the house by Taylor. Outside Taylor released her grip on Emily.

"Did something happen between you and my brother?" Emily inquired.

"No. I was busy thinking and he startled me. Then you came in," Taylor explained and Emily accepted it with a nod. Taylor hated herself for lying, but what else could she do?

"Look there are the others," Emily called out, breaking through Taylor's thoughts. True enough Sarah, Amber and Rachel were walking up to them.

"So who was moonstruck?" Emily, Amber and Sarah asked in a unison, "Not me. Wait then who was moonstruck?"

Taylor stared at the trio and then asked Rachel, who stood beside her, "Are they always like that?"

"Sometimes," Rachel smirked, "Scary, right?" Taylor nodded.

"Very funny, but seriously, does that mean none of us were moonstruck?" Emily asked.

"Don't look at me. This time I'm innocent," Rachel answered with her hands up in defense.

"And I don't get moonstruck," Taylor added, quickly, "Besides what's so bad if no one was moonstruck this time? Be glad."

"The last time that happened we had crazed tentacles after us for quite some time," Amber retorted, looking at Rachel, who gave a sheepish look.

"Lets not dwell on it. Maybe we were just too careful this time," Sarah interrupted, "Lets go to Mako." The others nodded and they walked to the edge of the water. Taylor silently extended her hand out to Rachel, who took it with a small smile. Then they dove into the water. Zooming through the water, Rachel stared at Taylor. This brought the reality back. Taylor was really a mermaid and she wasn't. Rachel shook her head. She was being ridiculous. Taylor had told her straightforward that she had no reason to be jealous. Suddenly Rachel realized that her body was tingling all over. It felt weird and she couldn't explain the feeling. Her skin prickled.

Abruptly Taylor stopped swimming, making Rachel look up, forgetting the weird sensation. Taylor stared at the coral reefs surrounding them. Rachel smiled at her as she gave Taylor's hand a squeeze. They exchanged a gaze before Taylor swam after the others.

Finally they surfaced in the moon pool. "That was amazing," Taylor gasped, "We don't have such corals in Ireland."

"Glad you like them," Sarah smiled, "And this is our moon pool."

"So this is your moon pool," Taylor said, thoughtfully as she did a 380, "It's beautiful."

"It seems though that nothing is wrong with the moon pool," Rachel said as she let her hand run down a wall.

"I don't know. I don't trust this," Amber muttered.

"I think you're being paranoid," Emily said.

"Better paranoid than under a microscope," Amber retorted.

"Okay enough," Sarah interrupted them, but then agreed, "Though I have a strange feeling. Something doesn't feel right."

"Why don't we keep showing Taylor around the Gold Coast? The moon pool is fine," Rachel suggested and the other agreed. The five girls swam along the coast, surfacing to show various sights from the water and submerging again to travel and enjoy the sea life.

Finally got out of the water and Amber dried them. They were in front of a café, which had a beautiful view from its terrace. "This is our favorite café," Sarah told Taylor as they sat down at a table outside next to the water. Luckily it was fairly empty for the time of day and they easily found a table for their large group.

"My mother actually worked here when she was a teenager so it sort of has tradition," Emily said with a smile.

"It looks nice," Taylor replied, looking around, "Makes me want to work again."

"You like working as a waitress?" Amber inquired, half surprised, having thought that Taylor worked for the money.

"Yeah. I love interacting with people. Of course the pay does help my allowance, but it's mostly for the fun of it," Taylor smiled as she thought back to her own café back in Ireland, "I can't say I would want to do that all my life, but for now it's great."

As they waited for their drinks they casually chatted. Suddenly Rachel saw something out of the corner of her eye. It took her a second to realize what it was, but then she jumped up, exclaiming, "Watch out!" Startled and confused the girls first looked up at Rachel and then towards where she was pointing, but it was too late. Seconds later their table was knocked out of the way by something, sending the girls flying to the ground hard.

Cries of panic erupted as the girls looked up to see what had attacked them and froze. In front of them floated a tentacle. "What is going on here?" Taylor demanded to know.

"We have no idea, but we have to stop it before someone gets hurt," Sarah replied.

"What about the people?" Amber questioned, her gaze at the few other guests that were cowering on the ground under a table or behind a chair.

"Rachel," Emily said, making the brunette look up, anticipating, "Get them out of here and then hide with them."

It hurt Rachel that Emily thought that she didn't have the power to help, but now was not the time to nodded and hurried over to the other guests. "Come on. Lets get inside," Rachel told them as she took the hand of someone, helping up.

Meanwhile the remaining four mermaids squared off against the tentacle. "I don't know what you are, where you come from or who sent you, but you're going down," Amber told it as she balled her fist. Bubbles appeared on the tentacle, but still it surged forward at them, causing them to jump apart.

"Damn it. It's too resistant for one person to finish it off," Emily observed.

"Together on three," Sarah said as they got up and the tentacle looped to face them again, "1,2..." Three never came as the tentacle attacked Sarah and Emily, who stood next to each other.

"It won't let us attack," Amber growled as her friends slowly got up, "Why is it so smart?"

"Let me stop it. You finish it off," Taylor told them as she used her magic to turn the water solid, "Now!" Just as the others raised their hands, the tentacle broke free and dashed forward towards them.

"Hey! Over here!" a cry shot through the air. The tentacle stopped inches from them, turning towards it. The girls also stared at the person. It was Rachel.

"Rachel," Emily whispered.

"Come here or are you afraid of a human!" Rachel provoked it.

As though it heard her the tentacle shot towards her. "Now's your chance!" Rachel yelled to her friends. It took the girls a second to break free of their trance, but then they sprang into action each using their magic. Almost instantly the tentacle came to an abrupt stop before Rachel, twitching and shaking.

Suddenly it gave one final jerk to free itself before it withdrew back into ocean. "What the…," the girls breathed.

"We have to hurry. People will be here soon," Rachel said, coming over to them.

"But how do we explain it?" Taylor questioned. They stood their thoughtfully as they could hear the first voices from inside the café.

Ambers gaze fell on the ground and suddenly an idea came to her. "Sarah," Amber said, making her friends look at her, "Is there a pipe here?"

"Are you crazy? We can't do that!" Emily exclaimed outraged as Sarah closed her eyes to concentrate.

"We don't have a choice. People will be here soon and how do you want to explain that tentacle?" Amber retorted.

"There is one," Sarah informed her friends as she opened her eyes, "We're lucky. It's clean water and probably leads to the ocean later on." The four stared at Emily as the voices grew louder. They could make out the works now.

"Okay," Emily agreed as she felt for the pipe underground and then put out her hand in a stop sign, "Step back." Obediently they did as they were told while Emily activated her power. A split second later the pipe burst, splashing water everywhere.

Seconds later people started to appear. "Oh, a pipe burst," was one of the many murmurs that the girls could hear. With a sigh they quietly stepped back until they were out of sight and then turned down the street.

They walked down the street in silence, each going after their own thoughts. Suddenly Emily broke the silence, whispering, "Rachel." The brunette looked up. "I'm sorry. I never meant for it to seem like that I didn't believe in your powers," Emily told her, "Thanks for helping us. If there is a next time we'll take it on together."

Rachel looked at the blonde and then smiled, "I'll look forward to it." The silence fell on the group again.

"What was that?" Emily asked as they all took a seat in her kitchen.

"It was obviously a tentacle," Amber retorted.

"But it attack us in public. That's never happened before," Sarah pointed out.

"I swear I have no part in this," Rachel half joked.

"Nobody believes that. We all saw what happened," Taylor replied, "We should consider ourselves lucky that we could blame it on the a busted pipe." The four others had to agree with that.

"Still this means something did happen during the full moon," Emily said, thoughtfully.

"But what? None of us were moonstruck," Amber asked.

"Maybe a new mermaid?" Sarah suggested.

"No way. We all know how hard it is to transform for the first time. Plus, unless you have knowledge about mermaids, there is no way someone knows that they have powers then. The way that tentacle moved was too good. No amateur can control water like that…," Rachel objected and as she spoke a suspicion appeared in mind. Her mother. Could she have…? Maybe. Would she be willing to? Definitely. A sinking feeling spread through her stomach.

"Is everything alright?" Sarah asked, noticing that her friend's complexion had just paled several shades.

"Everything's fine," Rachel answered, trying to act as normal as possible.

"You sure?" Amber questioned.

"I'm fine," Rachel all but snapped. The girls gave up on trying to extract the truth for now. "I have to go," Rachel whispered, got up and left. Outside she took a deep breath to subside the queasy feeling in her stomach, but it didn't help. If her suspicion was true, then she had no idea how to act. Not in front of her mother, nor her friends. What was she supposed to do now?

Back in the kitchen the girls stared after Rachel. What had happened to her? Taylor felt sorry for Rachel, having guessed the reason for her sudden departure, but she knew she couldn't do anything, nor could she tell her that her mother wasn't involved. More lies.

Before any conversation could pick up again James appeared in the doorway. "What's up?" he asked as he got himself a glass of soda.

"We just witnessed a pipe bursting at the café," Amber quickly said.

"Wow. Is everyone alright?" James asked, though his eyes searched for Taylor's, who looked away.

They all nodded. "Luckily it was clean water," Emily explained.

Just then James stumbled, causing part of the content in his glass to go flying. The girls could only watch in horror as it splashed all over Taylor, who stood their shocked for a moment before sprinting off. "Taylor!" James exclaimed, wanting to run after her, but Amber held him back.

"We'll go look for her," she said as she and the other two hurried after her.

"James," Emily said, having turned back around. James looked up to see his sister lean against the doorframe. "What happened between you and Taylor this morning?" Emily asked.

He looked up at her and replied, "Nothing. I accidentally startled her. That's all."

"Okay," Emily muttered, not sure why, even though they both gave the same answer, she just didn't believe him. Either way she hurried after the others.

Emily finally found them at the entrance to a supply closet with Taylor as a mermaid sprawled on the floor. "You alright?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, but I think I have a broomstick in my back though, so if you would help, I would appreciate it," Taylor answered as Amber balled her hand. Seconds later Taylor stood before them again.

The girls then dispersed, seeing no reason to further wonder about the mystery of the attacking tentacle. Later that evening Taylor laid on her bed, thinking. Mostly about the tentacle. Was it her? Taylor shook her head. It couldn't be.

Suddenly their was a knock at the door, making her sit up. "Come in," Taylor said and a second later the door opened to reveal James. She shot up from her bed as though she had just been shocked. " What are you doing here?" she hissed softly after he had closed the door.

"I wanted to talk to you," he replied, "Are you alright? You suddenly ran off this afternoon."

Taylor stared at him, but luckily she had thought of an answer. "I didn't want the soda to stain my shirt, so I looked for a bathroom," she lied as a knife stabbed her in the heart. Another lie.

"It seems to be fine though," James smiled,"I'm glad."

"Is that all?" Taylor asked, impatiently, knowing any second someone could walk in and catch them.

"No. Emily is on to us," James told her.

"Well she isn't stupid," Taylor retorted, "That's why we have to stay away from each other."

"That's exactly what we shouldn't do," James objected, making Taylor look at him.

"What? What should we do then?" Taylor questioned.

"She'll find out one day and it won't make a difference, if we were beating around the bush the whole time or actually went out," James explained, "I don't know about you, but what I felt yesterday at the airport felt real to me. Maybe you were just humbling me. How should I know." Taylor stared at James, her face bright red. That was the closest thing she had ever gotten to a confession. What should she do? Could she just ignore her feelings? She could stop everything with one sentence.

"I see," James whispered, the disappoint clearly written in his face as he turned back to the door, "Sorry for bothering you for so long. I'll leave you alone now. Good night."

Just as his hand was about to push down the door handle Taylor jumped forward, grabbing onto his shirt and saying, "Don't." It took her a moment to realize what she had done, but then she continued, "I don't know what to do in such a situation. I was never in one, but yesterday was special for me too. I don't know what I'm feeling, but if you'll give me some time…"

"Take all the time you need. I'll wait for you," James replied, softly, but not turning around, "Why don't we go out soon?"

"But what about…?" Taylor began, but James interrupted, "Don't shoot me down after making such progress." A small smile appeared on her face. "Okay. It's a date," she whispered, softly.

"I'll leave then. Good night," James said and this time Taylor let him walk.

She stood there for a long time, very aware of how red her face was, but that was unimportant. She was pleased of what she did. "One truth. One truth between all those lies," Taylor thought as she turned in for the night.

**A/N: **Who is attacking everyone? Is Rachel right about her mother? How will Taylor's and James' date go and how long can they keep it a secret before they are found out? Please review.


	5. Dates

**A/N: The class trip was awesome and I had a great time. Vacation is around the corner and so that I can enjoy my vacation and think of new ideas, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

****_Previously... Taylor lies about knowing James in front of the others, wanting to keep a distance, even though they are attracted to one another. Meanwhile the girls are attacked by a tentacle in public. They are able to defeat it. James is able to persuade Taylor to go on a date with him. Now on to the chapter.  
_

Chapter 5: Dates

"Are you sure about this?" Sarah asked Taylor as they stood on the beach not far from their houses.

"Yes. Go," Taylor reassured them, "I won't die, if I'm on my own for a day." It was two days after James had confessed to her, which had since then been uneventful.

"But still..," Emily began, but Taylor interrupted, "I don't want to be the one responsible, if you have a fall out with your boyfriends."

"You heard her. Lets go," Amber said, giving her two friends a small push into the direction of the road.

"I guess we'll see you later," the three girls replied, waving as they left.

Taylor waved after them until they had disappeared at the horizon and then turned to the ocean. Finally alone. Having been together with them had been great, but it had also meant that she hadn't been able to stall away for a moment. Now standing in front of the ocean, she felt the wind in her hair and nodded. Perfect. Now she could do it. Pursing her lips, Taylor started to whistle the tune she had played so many times before. The wind picked it up, sending it out onto the ocean.

Taylor slowly opened her eyes, her eyes scanning the horizon. Any minute now. "That was a pretty tune," someone said.

"Damn it," Taylor thought as she recognized the voice and turned to see the owner. It was Rachel. "Hey," Taylor replied.

"Where did you learn that melody?" Rachel inquired.

"I created it back in Ireland," Taylor explained, "I like playing it when I see the ocean. Why are you here?"

"I was going for a walk," Rachel replied, "I couldn't stay in my house." The confusion and sadness was obvious.

"You really think she did it?" Taylor asked.

"I don't know, but who else would do such a thing? My mother is the only logical choice," Rachel answered, softly.

Taylor hesitated, seeing the sad girl. Could she tell her? She really cared for her. "I don't think it was your mother," Taylor finally said, making Rachel stare at her.

"What do you mean? You know more?" Rachel demanded to know, grasping Taylor by the shoulder.

"No," Taylor protested, firmly, pulling herself free from Rachel's iron grip and staggering back, "I just don't think it was your mother. Your mother has had so many years to transform back. Why now?"

"Because her family is breaking apart a second time!" Rachel cried, but an instant later a sharp pain went through her cheek.

Taylor stood in front of her with her hand up. She had slapped Rachel. "I'm sorry," Taylor whispered, "It's just…"

"No, I should be the one to apologize. The thought of my mother doing this is just too scary. I don't want it to be true," Rachel muttered, weakly.

"Don't think like that until it has been proven true," Taylor told her and thought at the same time, "I will do the same."

Suddenly Taylor's phone rang. She had gotten a message. "Meet me at the house," it read and was from James. "I have to go," Taylor said, looking towards the ocean one last time, "Don't think about it too much." Rachel nodded as Taylor left. Rachel turned back to the ocean. Could she just stop thinking about it?

Back at Emily's house, Rachel found James in the backyard, sitting on a patio chair, enjoying the view of the ocean. "You called," Taylor said, smiling as she came up from behind.

"I thought since my sister and her friends gave you the day off, we could finally go out," James told her.

"I guess," Taylor agreed, "What did you have in mind?"

"Just follow me," James smiled as he grabbed her hand and pulled her along to his car, "Don't worry. I promise you won't see Emily or any of the others." Taylor debated with herself, whether she should ask how he knew that, but decided to just wait and see.

A while later they pulled up at a parking lot in front of the Marine Park, which seemed to be an amusement park and an aquarium in one. "Perfect," Taylor thought as she got out of the car, "Why all the water?" Though now she knew why James thought that Emily would never go here.

"My sister isn't a big fan of water so she never goes here," James confirmed her suspicions, but then saw the look on Taylor's face, "Don't tell me you're also…"

"No, it's fine. Just surprised by the choice, that's all," Taylor quickly interrupted, not being able to disappoint him, "Lets go." She put on a fake smile and pulled him to the entrance.

* * *

"I'm here," Sarah smiled as she walked up to Ryan on the street and kissed him, "So what's the plan?" She had separated from Amber and Emily a while back and had made her way here.

"I thought we could visit a friend of yours," Ryan said, getting a confused look from Sarah.

"Who?" she asked, curiously.

"You'll find out soon enough," Ryan grinned as he led her along the many streets of the Gold Coast. It soon dawned on her where she was going.

"Who could I be meet there, if it's what I think it is?" Sarah asked.

"You'll see," Ryan smiled.

"But we are going…," Sarah began and ended, when she saw the entrance, "The Marine Park. I knew it. What are we doing here?"

"Like I said, meeting a friend," Ryan repeated as he pulled her to the entrance, "Come on."

* * *

"There you are," Jordan said as Amber came up to him and gave him a kiss, "Glad I didn't get a call this time, saying that you wouldn't be able to make it."

"Yeah, I felt like coming today," Amber retorted with a smirk, but then looked around at the crowded entrance of the Marine Park, "So where are we going?"

"We're here," Jordan replied, curtly.

"Here as in the Marine Park?" Amber asked, "Are you crazy? You know what I am."

"I wanted to go to a place, where we wouldn't by accident run into any of the others. I want you to myself for a day," Jordan answered, "Is that too much to ask for?"

Amber stared at him. In a way it was really sweet. "Okay, but we're staying away from any water," Amber agreed to which Jordan nodded and they entered the marina.

* * *

"So where are we going?" Emily asked as she followed Daniel.

"I thought we could go on a typical normal date," he answered.

"Don't we always? We go to the movies and such," Emily inquired, "Or what do you consider normal?"

"How about a quiet trip to the…," Daniel began, but Emily interrupted when she saw their destination, "Aquarium. So this is normal?"

"Come on. I promise we'll stay away from any water," Daniel told her.

"Well okay," Emily gave in, "But you know I would have gone anywhere with you. It didn't have to be the Marine Park." They smiled at each other as they entered the amusement park.

* * *

Rachel strolled along the roads towards her house. Taylor was right. Why would her mother turn back into a mermaid now? Finally she arrived at her house and entered it. "I'm home," Rachel said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Ah, Rachel, you're just in time. I made some lunch," Charlotte greeted her.

"Perfect," Rachel smiled, or at least she tried to. Her mother set a plate of sandwiches in front of her.

"Want some water?" Charlotte asked and Rachel nodded.

Watching her mother, whose hands got some water on them, Rachel thought, "Maybe I was wrong. She seems to be completely normal."

Charlotte placed the water in front of Rachel, but as she pulled her hand back, it knocked into the glass, tipping it over. The water splashed onto Rachel's arm. It took all of Rachel's self-control not jump up and try to dry her arm. "I'm sorry," Charlotte said, but by the intent look on her face, Rachel knew she had done it on purpose. To see if she would transform into a mermaid. Angrily Rachel stood up, knocking over her chair in the process and stormed to the door.

"I have to go," Rachel choked through the fury.

"What about lunch?!" Charlotte called after her, but Rachel had already slammed the door shut behind her. She looked after her daughter quizzically. She hadn't transformed, but she hadn't acted normal either.

Rachel ran and only slowed down gradually until she was down to a walk. So her mother knew more than she let on. Maybe she hadn't been wrong with the initial thought of her being their attacker? But then why did she attack her own daughter? Did she hate her that much?

Subconsciously Rachel's feet had carried her to the Marine Park. When she finally looked up and really took in her surroundings, Rachel stood in front of the ticket counter. By the annoyed look of the cashier she had been standing there for a while. "What will it be?" the cashier demanded, sternly.

"Actually…," Rachel began, wanting to explain the situation, but then decided differently, "One student please." There must have been a reason she had gone here. With her ticket in hand and a "have a good time" from the cashier Rachel crossed the threshold of the park. As expected on such a nice day many people, from young to old, were there.

Ambling through the park, Rachel decided to head towards the aquarium. It was times like these, seeing all sorts of couples, that she wished Alex was still here and not back in their hometown. All of the sudden a face caught her eye. Her mom! What was she doing here? However when she looked back to where her mother had stood, no one was there. "You're going crazy, Rachel," she muttered to herself as she reached the aquarium.

Just as she was about to enter, she saw two heads. Sarah and Ryan. What were they doing here? It seemed like a bad place for a date with a mermaid. Sarah seemed to be following Ryan somewhere. Deciding it was a bad idea to go in the same direction and running the risk of accidentally interrupting their date, Rachel turned on her heels and wandered into another direction.

"Where are we going?" she could hear Sarah ask.

"We're almost there," Ryan smiled as they finally halted in front of a tank. Behind the glass swam a dolphin.

"Kylie!" Sarah exclaimed, immediately recognizing the daughter of the dolphin that her mother had been so attached to, "How have you been?" The dolphin clicked her reply, happy to see her. Out of happiness the dolphin did a flip.

"Wow, you were right," someone said, making Sarah turn around to see a worker of the aquarium, probably a dolphin trainer.

"Right about what?" Sarah questioned, confused, looking from Ryan to the trainer and back.

"He said he knew a way to cheer Kylie up," the trainer explained.

"I was here a few days ago when I overheard John talking about how sad Kylie seemed to be lately," Ryan continued, "I told him I knew a way to cheer her up."

"I didn't think a girl would be able to cheer Kylie up," John replied, "What's your name?"

"Sarah," she introduced herself.

"As in Sarah Sertori?" John asked and Sarah nodded, "So you're the daughter of Cleo Sertori. That explains it. You've known Kylie since she was little. You seem to have the same knack for dolphins as your mother. Have you considered becoming a dolphin trainer?"

"I haven't," Sarah answered.

"You should," John suggested, "Also come visit Kylie more often. It seems to make her very happy."

"I will," Sarah said, having turned back to Kylie, "I promise. I'm sorry, if I haven't visited you in a long time."

"Dolphins are very social. She considers you a friend," John explained.

"And she is mine," Sarah smiled at dolphin, who nodded profusely. John took that as his sign to leave. "Thanks for bringing me here," Sarah said.

"You're welcome," Ryan smiled, glad to see his girlfriend so happy.

On the other side of the tank stood James and Taylor. "It says the dolphin's name is Kylie," Taylor says, reading the sign and then looked around for it.

"You like dolphins?" James asked and Taylor nodded, "Why don't we go on the water roller coaster? It's a real attraction." It was right next to the aquarium.

"But the line looks so long," Taylor lied, uneasily. "

Okay, you don't want to go on the water roller coast or any other water attraction that we've walked past," James said, reminding her of the other attractions that they had passed, "What do you want to do?"

"Why don't we get something to eat?"

"Sounds great," James willingly agreed. Taylor was really enjoying herself. Going out with James had been a good idea. She was finally able to free her mind of all the mermaid stuff.

Of course reality couldn't let Taylor have too much fun and decided to crash her party. Suddenly Taylor saw someone down the path she was walking. Emily and Daniel. Quickly she pulled James behind a hedge. "What's wrong?" James asked.

"I saw Emily," Taylor told him.

"Emily?" James repeated, "Are you sure?" Taylor gave him a look. "Okay, lets go somewhere else," James said and pulled Taylor along.

He led her into the a theater, where instead of a stage in the middle there was a giant pool. This was probably the place where the dolphin and whatnot shows were performed. Since nothing was planned for the time, it was completely empty. "Why don't you wait here. I'll get something to eat," James suggested and Taylor nodded, taking a seat on one of the many seats.

Taylor rested her head on her hand, looking out at the pool. Suddenly a dolphin head popped out of the water. It was Kylie, if Taylor saw it correctly. Curiously she walked up to the edge of the pool. "Hey you," Taylor smiled. Kylie playfully nodded her head. Suddenly she used her nose to splash water at Taylor, which hit dead on. Astonished Taylor's mind went haywire. She couldn't transform here. James would be back soon. With no other choice Taylor dove into the pool.

Kylie greeted the mermaid underwater with a friendly nudge. Taylor petted the dolphin and decided to make the most of the situation and swam along side it for the moment.

* * *

Meanwhile Emily and Daniel were at a stand, eating an ice cream. "This place really has the best ice cream," Emily smiled, taking another lick from her strawberry one.

"Really?" Daniel asked, "Mine tastes ordinary. Let me taste yours." Before Emily knew what he was doing, Daniel had grabbed her wrist and taken a lick of her ice cream. "You're right. Yours tastes really good," he smiled.

"Hey, no fair," Emily complained, "I want a lick too." Obliging hand held his chocolate ice cream out to him and Emily took a bite out of it.

"Now that's unfair," Daniel joked, "You took a bite."

"Try and catch me," Emily smiled and took off in a sprint.

However she saw a face that made her come to an abrupt stop. There in the distance she saw James. "James," she whispered, confused. Wasn't he at home studying for some exam?

"Gotcha," Daniel said as his arms wrapped around his girlfriend, "What's wrong?"

"I just saw my brother right over…," she began, but when she pointed to the spot, he was gone, "Great now I'm imagining things."

"Why don't we head to the aquarium," Daniel suggested and Emily nodded.

* * *

Meanwhile Amber and Jordan had been walking around the park in silence mostly. Now they had slowly made their way to the aquarium. "Listen, I'm not going to apologize every time I have to take care of mermaid stuff," Amber finally said, "You should grow up and not always be jealous."

"Jealous," Jordan repeated, "I'm not jealous. Just annoyed that you always go racing off when a tentacle comes calling."

"What else am I supposed to do? Except for Taylor, Rachel, Emily, Sarah and me no one can defeat them," Amber hissed.

Before James could say anything a piercing scream went through the air, making everyone look up. A boat from the water roller coast was stuck halfway down the slope and didn't seem to be moving anymore. "This is bad," Jordan said.

"Something isn't right here," Amber muttered.

"What do you mean?" Jordan asked, looking at her.

"There!" Amber exclaimed, pointing at a tentacle that was coming from one of the many tanks, "It's attacking again. Jordan, you have to evacuate the park."

"What about you?" Jordan asked.

"I have to stop this," Amber told him.

"There you go again," Jordan complained.

"We don't have time for this. People's lives are at stake, Jordan," Amber snapped and with that ran off, "Please, just do it."

In dead sprint Amber pulled out her phone and dialed all four mermaids. Everyone but Taylor picked up. "We have a problem. A tentacle is attacking. Where? At the Marine Park. You're here too?!" Sarah, Amber and Emily said in unison.

"You really should stop that," Rachel told them, dryly, partially freaked out by the synchronicity, "But I'm here too."

Suddenly an alarm sounded and an announcement was made, "Attention all visitors. The park is having some troubles. Please go to your nearest exit in an orderly fashion." Almost immediately panic ensued, forcing the girls to fight against the stream of people, running away from the roller coaster and to the exit.

Finally the four arrived at the bottom of the water roller coast at the same time and closed their cell phones. "Looks like the only one missing is Taylor," Sarah observed.

"I tried to call her, but she didn't answer," Amber replied.

"Sorry, but I couldn't get to my phone," Taylor said, surfacing at the edge of the tank next to the four.

"Taylor!" they exclaimed.

"Why are you in the tank?" Emily asked.

"Long story," Taylor answered as Sarah used her power to lift Taylor out of the water and Amber used hers to dry her, "So we all went here?" They all nodded.

"We don't have time for this. We have to save those people," Sarah pointed out and they turned to the water coaster.

The five girls stared at the water slide. The water had been turned to rock hard gelatin. "No way," Emily muttered, staring at it.

"That means..," Sarah began and Rachel ended, "Whatever is attacking us has your powers, Taylor." The words hit Taylor like a bolt of lightning. It couldn't be.

"But how?" Amber asked, "You said you're the only one from your moon pool right?"

"Yeah," Taylor answered, numbly.

"We can think about this later. Taylor, you have to turn this back to water," Emily interrupted and Taylor nodded as she stepped forward. Turning her hand, she carefully turned the gelatin back into water. The boat from the roller coaster dropped down, causing a huge wave to splash, which just barely missed the girls. As soon as it had stopped moving the last few passengers got out and ran for an exit.

"How lucky for us that no one was hurt," Emily said.

"But isn't it strange," Amber began, "I thought I saw a…"

"Tentacle!" Rachel exclaimed, causing everyone to jump to the side as the tentacle zoomed through the spot they had just stood.

"That was close," Sarah breathed as they got up.

"Lets finish this thing before it damages something," Amber told the other, who nodded.

All five activated their powers, instantly freezing the tentacle. Just as it was about to explode, someone said, "Everything is clear." Amber whirled around to see Jordan standing there, causing her to lose her concentration on the tentacle.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, furiously, "I thought I told you to evacuate as well."

"I wanted to make sure you're alright," Jordan retorted.

"Who is the mystical being? It's too dangerous for you," Amber snapped.

"You know what, I was concerned about you, but I see there is no need for that with the great Amber," he spat and turned to leave, "We're through!" All four girls gasped at that declaration, while Amber didn't as much as flinch.

The tentacle used this moment where everyone's concentration was on Amber and Jordan to break free of its magical restraints and shot towards Jordan. "Jordan, watch out!" Amber exclaimed and instinctively threw herself between him and the tentacle. The tentacle hit her, sending her flying. With a thud Amber landed on the ground, unmoving.

"Amber!" the four girls exclaimed, but it was Jordan, who was already at her side.

He cradled her limp body. "Amber, Amber, get a hold of yourself," he told her.

The four girls stared at the two people on the ground, but then their rage turned to the tentacle. "We won't forgive you," they said in a unison as they all raised their hands and activated their power. The tentacle was no match for their magic combined with their fury. In a matter seconds it exploded.

Then they all ran over to Amber. "Amber, wake up," Emily said, shaking her.

"It's not working," Sarah sobbed, close to tears.

"Amber, I'm sorry. I should have listened to you. You were right when you said that it was too danger," Jordan whispered.

"Can-Can you say that again?" a soft voice asked, making everyone look up. Amber's eyes were slowly opening.

"Amber!" the crowd exclaimed.

"Did you get it?" Amber questioned and the girls nodded.

Carefully she got up. "Are you sure you should be getting up?" Jordan asked, concerned.

"The tentacle knocked the window out of me pretty hard. I might be black and blue tomorrow, but I'll be fine," Amber answered.

"Thank god," Jordan whispered as he hugged her.

"So we're not broken up?" Amber inquired. Instead of an answer, Jordan kissed her.

They then walked for the exit. Just outside of the Marine Park was still a giant crowd. "You realize we're turning into one of them?" Rachel asked Taylor, "We were also in sync." They laughed, though Taylor's was only halfhearted. She was looking around for James, but he was nowhere to be seen. Had he gone home?

"Taylor!" someone called through the crowd, making her look up to see James pushing through to her. Taylor's eyes widened in horror. Only when he got to her did he see his sister and her friends next to Taylor.

"James? What are you doing here?" Emily asked, surprised, "You were here with Taylor? Come to think of it, you never told me why you were here."

The two looked from Emily to each other. "Yes, we were here together," Taylor finally admitted, "You see I ran into James after I returned back to your house and he asked what I was going to do, now that you were gone for the day. I had nothing to do, so he suggested, going somewhere to beat the time. That's all."

"Oh, I see," Emily said with relief, "I nearly though you were on a date." They all laughed though for James and Taylor it was a weak one. That had been a close call.

"Why don't we walk home?" Sarah suggested, "It doesn't look like they're going to open the park again anytime soon." The others nodded.

* * *

Meanwhile Charlotte had taken in the mail and was leafing through it. A folded piece of paper caught her eye and she opened it. It read, "If you want to know the truth about your daughter, come to this place." Below was an address and a date. No signature.

"Interesting," Charlotte muttered as she looked over the letter again.

**A/N: **Is Charlotte the one attacking? Who send the mysterious note and apparently knows of Rachel's secret. Please review.


	6. Understanding

**A/N: I'm sorry it took so long. I didn't mean to, but I had a bad case of writer's block. Luckily it cleared up now, because I soon have to write some important and I know I won't get to writing much then. However I promise I'll bring a chapter out in time for Christmas. Anyway a big thanks as always to my readers. Here is chapter 6. Enjoy!**

Chapter 6: Understanding

Rachel felt like she was suffocating in her own house. It wasn't that her mother was monitoring her every waking moment, no it was more the opposite. Ever since her mother had 'accidentally' poured water over her, they barely talked at all. It was more the hostile air, the distrust, that seemed to rob her of any oxygen. Now they only talked when necessary and barely saw each other, but Rachel saw the way her mother stared at her, still not convinced. Not for her own safety did she stay away from her mother, but for the other four, the real mermaids, did she do it. Even it made her life a living hell. Rachel liked her mom, even if she had been a power crazed mermaid. She was her only real family left, whether she liked it or not.

Rachel walked down the stairs and to the front door. Passing her mother, who was in the kitchen, she said, "I'm leaving." Her mother's silence to her hit her like a knife. They couldn't exist like this beside each other forever, could they? They had to, if neither was willing to back down. Outside Rachel inhaled the salty sea air and walked along the street to her fellow mermaids' homes. She wished she could tell them, but it was not their battle to fight. Not to mention with the tentacle attacking a lot lately, like at the amusement park only two days ago, she could hardly bother them with such a matter. At least there was one person she could talk to. The sea breeze tugged at her gloomy mood and then pulled it away completely, leaving Rachel a lot happier, though the thought was still imprinted into the back of her mind.

As she stepped up to Emily's door, Rachel was prepared to ring the bell, when she heard voices coming from the backyard. Deciding to around the back, she stopped short, when she realized who was talking. It was James and Taylor. "That was really close at the amusement park," Rachel heard Taylor say.

"Sorry, I would have never taken you, if I had known that my sister would be there," James replied.

"I really think it would be for the best, if we laid low for a while. Emily is really suspicious already," Taylor told him, firmly.

Rachel couldn't believe her ears. As if she didn't have enough problems. Deciding that it would be bad to get caught up in this too, she slowly backed up, hoping to pretend that she had heard nothing. Unfortunately she stepped on a twig, which of course, made the loudest sound possible for such a small twig, immediately capturing James' and Taylor's attention. With a silent curse Rachel stepped around the corner to see the two standing in front of a table, probably been sitting until a moment ago. Seeing Rachel Taylor felt a hint of relief, having thought that it was Emily that had heard them.

"I should get going," James said and walked inside, leaving the two girls, who stared at each other for a while longer. Finally Taylor sunk to a chair, her head low.

"So you and James?" Rachel asked, softly, stepping towards her. Taylor only nodded, seeing no point in lying anymore. "Why? How?" Rachel inquired as she sat down opposite of Taylor, where James had sat before her.

"I know it's crazy, you don't have to tell me that, but I can't help it. I first met James at the airport by chance. We hit it of so well. I would have never gone out with him, if I had know who he was, but now it's too late…," Taylor explained, looking up with a look of despair.

"How much does he know?" Rachel asked.

"Nothing. He doesn't know anything," Taylor assured her, quickly, "So? Are you going to tell Emily?"

Just then Emily, Sarah and Amber came out onto the porch. "There you are, Taylor. Rachel, you're here too? What's up?" Emily asked, surprised to see Rachel.

Rachel could feel all four pairs of eyes on her, but Taylor's burned the most. "Nothing. I was just coming around," Rachel finally replied. Taylor gave her look of thanks.

"It's actually quite good timing. We thought that we would want to visit Mako," Amber said.

"We remembered that we never did figure out more about those visions that we had, so we thought that maybe going to Mako might help us," Sarah explained.

"I'm game," Taylor agreed, happy to get away from all the madness.

"Okay," Rachel added.

Just as the girls got up, a piece of paper flew by, landing directly on Taylor's face. "Who turned off the light?" the blonde asked, her arms flailing.

The four others laughed as Sarah pulled away the paper. "It's just a piece of paper," Sarah chuckled, making Taylor join in the laughter.

When they finally calmed down, Emily grasped it, complaining, "Who forgot to throw this in the trash? Littering is bad for the environment."

"Here comes Captain Environment to the rescue," Amber joked, looking over her friend's shoulder at the paper, "Hey, wait this is part of a newspaper."

"So?" Emily questioned.

"It's an article about some cruise ship coming to the Gold Coast," Amber continued.

"I remember hearing about it. It's called MS Queen Anne and is one of the largest cruise ships in the world. It's supposed to be a real attraction. It should be in port today," Sarah recalled.

"I also heard of it. I had actually wanted to visit it later on," Taylor said, "It was build not far from where I live."

"Why don't we? After we go to Mako we can drop by and look at it. From our point of view, it should be magnificent," Rachel suggested and the others nodded.

"Then it's decided," Emily smiled and then the five finally walked down the dock and dove into the water. Grasping Rachel's hand, Taylor pulled her friend behind her. Again Rachel had the weird sensation that made her whole body tingle. What was it?

After surfacing in the moon pool, Taylor recapped, "So you used your powers at the same time and then your necklace activated." The four nodded. "Sounds easy enough to recreate," Taylor said as the other three activated their powers.

While Sarah made a funnel of water rise from the center of the moon pool, Amber's and Emily's powers battled over freezing and boiling it. Anxiously all five girls watched Rachel's necklace, but nothing happened. "It doesn't seem to be working," Sarah said as she let the funnel splash back into the water.

"Maybe we're doing something wrong," Amber suggested with a shrug.

"But what?" Emily retorted.

"Maybe, because Taylor is now here the vision has been fulfilled and its only purpose was to bring Taylor here," Rachel hypothesized.

"But then why was I brought here?" Taylor asked. With a sigh all five leaned against a rock, defeated. They were clueless.

"It doesn't look like we're going to get anywhere like this," Sarah said, breaking the silence, "Why don't we go see the cruise ship?" The other four agreed and once again the five were underway.

Zooming towards the docks of the Gold Coast they could already from a distance see the black wall that was the hull of the ship. At a safe distance they surfaced and gasped. In front of them stretched a giant ship, which rivaled anything they had seen in size and luxury. The white paint glowed in the sun. "Amazing," Taylor whispered, her eyes not leaving the ship. The other four could only nod.

"This must be how the people felt when they saw the Titanic for the first time," Sarah said, "So small."

"Humans really can outdo themselves over and over," Emily added.

Just then they started to feel the pull of water as the propellers were started. "Looks like we came in time to see it depart," Amber told them, "Perfect timing." While the four mermaids watched in awe, Rachel was feeling weaker and weaker. Even though she was able to hold her breath for a long time, she had little of strength of being able to swim for a long time left. Now, with the propeller pulling at her, she was getting close to her limit as she held on more and more to Taylor, who was supporting her partially.

Taylor noticed the added grip on her arm and looked to her human friend, noticing that she was exhausted. She let her eyes wander across the shoreline, where she saw an empty pier, possibly deserted, since there was a new one, though a bit way from the main docks, but directly in line with the ship's departure line. "Guys, lets watch the ship from over there," Taylor suggested, pointing to the pier.

"Okay," the three mermaids agreed and dove underwater.

"You okay?" Taylor asked, looking at Rachel.

"I bit tired, but I'll be fine, once I get land under my feet again," Rachel answered, "Thanks."

"No problem," Taylor replied, "Sorry, that we forgot you're…, well… you. We don't want to exhaust you unnecessarily. Tell us, if you are." Solemnly Rachel nodded. Why was she so weak compared to her four friends? It irked her.

After they had reached the pier and dried themselves, they turned back to the main spectacle, sitting at the edge of the pier. The ship was slowly pulling away from the docks under the cheer of the crowd. "This is pretty amazing," Sarah mused.

"Maybe one day we should take a cruise," Amber suggested.

"Us mermaids? On the wide ocean, completely surrounded by water? I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Emily retorted.

"But it would be nice," Taylor replied, "Being completely surround by water. Feeling the power of it." Rachel stayed silent. She could no longer understand them like before. No fear of water nor transforming or the feeling of the power of water. Only the almost synthetic feel of power was left, which did not nearly give enough to make her stop longing for it. She could never again be truly a part of this group, no matter how much she or them tried.

Just then she heard footsteps and then a voice said, "Rachel."

Startled all five of them turned around. "Mom," Rachel muttered, surprised as she stood up, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm guessing the same as you," Charlotte simply replied, motioning towards the ship.

"Oh, right," Rachel whispered, almost relieved.

"How did you get here? I don't remember seeing you up ahead, when I walked here?" Charlotte asked. The girls froze. What could they possibly say?

Suddenly, before anyone could say anything, a tentacle shot out of the water right in front of the pier. The five girls stared in horror at it, while Charlotte stammered, "What the…"

The tentacle seemed to ponder what to do for a moment, just floating in the air, but then it shot forward towards Charlotte. "Mom!" Rachel exclaimed as she instinctively lunged for her mother, tackling her to the ground and out of the tentacle's way. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Charlotte muttered, dazed, "What is going on here?"

"Just stay down," Rachel instructed, stepping in front of her mother protectively. No matter how much her mother aggravated her at times, she would not lose one of her few family members.

"Rachel!" the four other girls exclaimed and wanted to run to her, but the tentacle shot between them, forcing them to a stop. Carefully they took a step back. Suddenly the tentacle whip lashed out at them, making the four mermaids fly off the pier into the water.

"You guys!" Rachel cried, but had no time to do anything as the tentacle came rushing towards her and her mother again. What was she going to do? The others couldn't help her, but she couldn't use her powers now, could she? Glancing over her shoulder, she saw her confused and partially scared mother. She had no choice.

Taking a deep breath, she called the water up from around the pier just in time to form a shield around her and her mother. A split second later the tentacle came crashing into it. She was able to hold it for a moment before she was overwhelmed and the shield disintegrated. Rachel staggered backwards, expecting another attack, but none came. Looking around, the tentacle was gone.

"Rachel," she heard her mother whisper behind her, but Rachel ignored it and hurried to the edge of the pier.

"Are you guys alright?" Rachel asked, looking down at her friends.

"We'll be fine," Sarah called up.

"Give me your hand. I'll pull you up," Rachel said as she took a hold of Taylor's arm.

Just then Charlotte stepped up behind her. Seeing them, she could only stare at the four mermaids. "You all are mermaids," she stammered astonished.

Rachel looked up at her mother, let go of Taylor and stood up. "That's right. They're mermaids," she confirmed, trying to sound as confident as possible.

"They? What about you?" Charlotte questioned, confused.

Rachel hesitated, but then told her, "I was a mermaid until last year. Through circumstances I lost my powers and now all that I have left is this necklace, which allows me to use my powers. I can't transform however." Rachel waited for a reaction, but Charlotte only stared at her. "Mom? Say something," Rachel whispered after a while.

Suddenly Charlotte grabbed Rachel's arm hard. "Come on, Rachel! We're going!" Charlotte ordered, dragging her daughter behind her.

"No," Rachel protested, trying to pull herself free in vain.

"I forbid you to ever see them again," Charlotte continued.

"Let me go!" Rachel yelled and yanked her arm free. Charlotte stared at her daughter. "They are my friends, mom. I don't care that you can't stand them. I don't care that you make them responsible for ending your mermaid being. They are my friend," Rachel told her, firmly.

"How can you call them friends when they obviously have a part in your no longer being a mermaid?" Charlotte demanded to know, "How can you call someone your friend, when they took the best thing in your life? Do you honestly think you'll ever be equal to them again?"

Rachel stared at her. "You're right," Rachel admitted softly, "I lost my powers because of them. However they saved me from dying instead. Sounds like a good deal to me. And maybe I won't be ever able to swim like that again and be exactly like them, but I don't need to. I am different and that is fine. They accept me like this. So I won't ever betray them."

Charlotte looked at her daughter in silence. Finally she said, "Very well. I won't lie and say that I like this, but I can't stand in the way of your happiness. Even if I might not show it very often, I do care for you, Rachel. At least now I know the truth." Rachel stared at her. Relief flooded her as she realized that it had not been her mother that had attacked them. She had worried for nothing, just like Taylor had said. And now that her mother knew, maybe they could patch things up again. "Well, I'm leaving," Charlotte told them and turned to leave, muttering, "The note was right."

"What note?" Rachel inquired, confused.

"I got a note, saying that if I wanted to know the truth I was to come here today," Charlotte explained and then left.

Just then the four mermaids came back on the pier, now human again. "But that means…," Amber began and Emily ended, "Someone knows about us."

"And I'm guessing whoever that is, is the one who is sending those tentacles after us," Taylor concluded.

"Not only that, but they know how we act," Rachel added.

"But why? What did we ever do to them?" Sarah questioned.

"That is just one of the many things, we'll have to ask them when we catch them," Emily answered.

"Look," Sarah said and pointed to the ocean. Only a short distance away, the Queen Anne was floating past them, the sunset in its back.

"Simply beautiful," Taylor whispered as they watched the spectacle.

"Who is our attacker? Why did they do this? They obviously wanted mom to figure out the truth. But why? To help us make up?" Rachel thought in silence, but shook her head, "No that was impossible." What was that person after?

**A/N: **First of the ship is a parody on the Queen Elizabeth, or whichever other great ships there are. Who is that person indeed. Thankfully it is not Charlotte, but then who is it and what did he or she gain by doing this? Also tension seems to be flying with between Taylor and James. Please review.


	7. Waves

**A/N: Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope everyone is having a great time. Here is my present from me to you. I'm thrilled that I am able to keep my promise and upload in time for Christmas. Thank you for reading to everyone. Here is chapter 7. Enjoy!**

_Previously... Rachel and her mother weren't speaking anymore, while the others tried to find out why Taylor was brought there. Rachel confesses to her mother the truth after they are attacked by their unknown opponent. Reluctantly Charlotte calls a truce and leaves the girls wondering, what the objective of their enemy is. Now on to the chapter.  
_

Chapter 7: Waves

"This is so nice," Taylor muttered, looking out at the sunset on the ocean from the patio, "There are few days in Ireland when you can do this."

"I can imagine," Rachel agreed, sitting next to her. All five girls sat on Emily's patio and were watching the sunset.

"To just be able to relax," Sarah added, stretching herself.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but," Emily began, but Amber interrupted, "Then don't."

"But don't forget what tomorrow is," Emily continued with a scowl towards Amber.

"I was hoping to forget about that," Amber replied.

Taylor wondered what they were talking about. Rachel, seeing Taylor's confused look, explained, "School starts for us tomorrow."

"Oh, I see," Taylor replied, slightly disappointed.

"I can't believe school starts again tomorrow," Amber sighed.

"I know. Our vacation really flew by quickly," Sarah agreed.

"Can you blame it? We went to Ireland and were busy fighting… whatever it is," Emily replied.

"Well I guess I should start looking for a flight back home," Taylor muttered, sadly.

"Why?" the four others chorused.

"What's the point of staying here, if you're always at school or busy with homework? Also my school starts in a week or so as well. I have to get home and start preparing," Taylor explained.

"That's true, but isn't there anyway for you to stay?" Sarah asked.

"I don't see one. How am I supposed to explain to my mother that I want to stay here and go to school on the basis of liking it here?" Taylor retorted.

"But we never figured out why you were supposed to come here to begin with," Emily protested.

"Then I guess we never will," Taylor said.

"Then we have to think of how we are going to spend your last few days," Amber suggested, but Taylor simply nodded.

"I'll go upstairs so you can get ready for your first day of school," Taylor told them.

"Poor Taylor," Rachel thought as she watched her go inside, "It's not just us she is leaving behind, but James and this whole mystery."

Taylor flopped onto her bed with a sigh. What was she going to do while the others are at school? More importantly her own school would start soon, so that she would have to return in due time. She didn't want to leave however, especially not, if she still had no idea why she was brought here in the first place. Most definitely if it meant parting from James. They hadn't had the chance to figure out what they meant to one another yet.

Taylor looked up when she heard her door open. It was James. "Everything alright?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

"Everything's fine," she lied.

"Good to know. Actually I wanted to know if you would go out with me tomorrow, since my sister and her friends are going back to school?" James asked, "My break is a bit longer than theirs. We could go to the beach"

"Sorry, I can't," Taylor answered. It killed Taylor inside. She wanted to go out with James. Go to the beach and show him what she is, but she couldn't. How could she know how he would react. She couldn't risk it. Not without putting the others in danger of being found out as well.

"Why not? They're in school. There is no way they could catch us," James objected.

"That's what you said about the amusement park as well," Taylor reminded him, "It's just I have to make preparations to leave again. My school is starting soon too."

"Then all the more reason to spend the last few days that we have together," James retorted.

Before Taylor could say anything, she heard footsteps coming towards her door. Quickly she pushed James from the bed, so that he was behind it, and a moment later Emily opened the door. Taylor gave a silent sigh of relief. "Hey Taylor. You left your phone downstairs and it rang. It's your mom," Emily told her as she handed it to her and left again.

"Hello mom," Taylor said, putting the phone to her ear, "How are you? It's been a while."

"Well whose fault is that? If you don't call I'll have to," Bella laughed, "I'm fine. How about you?"

"Just fine. Australia is really nice," Taylor replied as she waved to James, who left after making sure no one saw him.

"Listen, I'm calling because of school," Bella began.

"I know. It starts soon. The school here starts tomorrow," Taylor said, "I was going to look for a flight back soon."

"But you want to stay?" Bella asked, catching the tension in her daughter's voice.

"I know it's impossible. I'll call you again when I find a flight," Taylor answered.

"That's not what I asked. If money and such was not a problem, would you want to stay," Bella repeated, "And don't lie, because you think it could hurt my feelings. I can understand it, if you do."

Taylor hesitated for a moment and then replied, "I do."

"Then stay," her mother said.

Taylor blinked twice, believing she had misheard. "What?" she asked.

"Stay. I almost suspected something like this and checked with your school. It turns out they have an exchange program with the school in the Gold Coast. The school your friends are probably going to. You are enrolled as a student there for this year," Bella explained.

Taylor just stood there in astonished. This had to be a dream. She pinched herself in the cheek, but she didn't wake up. It was real! "Thank you, mom! Thank you!" Taylor exclaimed, "I have to go tell the others! You are the best! Bye!" She ended the call before her mother could say anything and sprinted down the steps back to the patio. Slamming the door open, she found not only Rachel, Amber, Sarah and Emily, but the mermaids' families. "You won't believe it! I can stay! I'm going to be attending school with you!" Taylor exclaimed.

The four mermaids stared at her for a moment and then jumped up, cheering. They hugged each other in joy. Then however Taylor caught Emma's and Ash's face. Taylor freed herself from the embrace and stepped towards them. "That is, if I am allowed to stay here," she said carefully.

"Of course you are. You are free to stay here as long as you want," Emma smiled.

Just then James came out. "What is with all the commotion about?" he asked.

"Great news, James. Taylor is going to stay and go to school with us," Emily told him.

"That's great. I look forward to it," James replied, seemingly nonchalant, but Taylor saw the twinkle in his eyes and the millimeter that his lips twitched upward for a moment. He was just as happy that she was staying as she was herself.

Rachel also noticed it and simply thought, "I'm happy for you."

The next day the girls got together their stuff for school, for Taylor it was simply a bag with a pen and paper in it, since she didn't have any school supplies yet and would have to go shopping that afternoon. After meeting up beforehand the girls now stood at the school gate.

"So this is your school," Taylor murmured, her look sliding over the building and the crowd that had gathered before it.

"Don't worry. Everyone is really nice," Rachel assured her.

"Almost everyone," Amber corrected her in a dark voice.

Before anyone could ask what Amber meant with that, a voice said, "Hello girls." The girls turned to face Heath. "And here I thought I would have a good school year," Amber retorted, "Listen Heath. Nothing has changed since last year, in fact nothing ever will."

"Relax. I realized that you won't leave Jordan any time soon," Heath smiled, "However, if you do ever leave him, give me a call, baby."

Amber was about to retort something, when Heath's eyes fell on Taylor. "Hello," he said, eying her, "Why don't you introduce us, Amber?"

Amber's hand was starting to clench, but Sarah grabbed it, silently telling her friend he was not worth the effort. "This is our friend Taylor. She's an exchange student from Ireland. Taylor, this is Heath," Sarah introduced them.

"It's nice to meet you," Taylor said.

"So, Taylor, are you single?" Heath asked, slyly.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I have a boyfriend," Taylor answered.

"And there is no way you would give him up for a piece of me?" Heath inquired.

"No, sorry," Taylor replied.

"We should get going to homeroom or we'll be late," Emily interrupted them and the girls quickly followed her.

"You never told us you had a boyfriend," Sarah said as they sat down in homeroom. Rachel waited curiously to see what Taylor would say.

"I don't have one, but it seemed nicer like that than turning him down without reason," Taylor lied, "Besides he's not really my type."

"Whose type is he?" Amber asked.

"I'm sure he will find a girl that appreciates his… character," Taylor answered as she saw him take a seat a few chairs away.

The girls fell silent when Mr. Martin entered the classroom. The science teacher would be their homeroom teacher once more, which pleased them. "First of all I would like to welcome you back to a new school year. I hope you all had a great vacation," the teacher greeted them, "Also I would like to introduce a new student. She is an exchange student from Ireland. Please welcome Taylor." The class gave an echo of hellos. "Seeing you guys are also all in my science class, I will inform you now that our first topic will be Marin biology. Due to that we will go out on a ship tomorrow to collect samples of plants and fish. This is mandatory," Mr. Martin continued. The group of mermaids froze. Why did they have such horrible luck? The bell rang signaling the end of homeroom. "I hope you will all be prepared tomorrow and that we will meet at the docks. Class dismissed," Mr. Martin told them.

After having gone shopping that afternoon, the girls sat in a café, talking. "So what do we do? We can hardly go on that ship," Sarah asked.

"But we don't have a choice. We can hardly fail science too. Gym is already a hassle," Emily answered.

"Why don't we just skip the trip tomorrow?" Amber suggested.

"All five of us? Won't that seem a little suspicious?" Taylor questioned.

"What if we do go?" Rachel hypothesized.

"Knowing our luck we would be hit by a spray of water and transform in front of everyone," Amber retorted.

"Well, since it is a research ship it must have a lab. What if we just stay there the whole time the boat is moving?" Rachel inquired.

"But what about our sample? We can't get into the water," Emily reminded her.

"You can't, but I can," Rachel pointed out, "I won't transform. I doubt so many people from one group have to go looking for something. If I get the sample, we have one and we can analyze it. Problem solved."

"That's brilliant," Taylor said.

"It's settled then?" Sarah asked and all the other girls nodded.

The next morning the five girls stood at the docks surrounded by their classmates. The water was flat as a pin and everything seemed calm. Mr. Martin was no where to be seen. "Too bad. He isn't here. Lets go," Amber joked, but just then he emerged out of a ship that was docked before them, along with a scientist in a white lab coat.

"Good morning class. I'm glad to see that everyone found the way. This is a good friend from college days, Dr. Alder. He is a renowned Marin Biologist," Mr. Martin introduced them.

"Well, I'm not for formal stuff, so I say we go onto the boat and set sail," the man said and led the class onto the ship.

After a short tour they stopped in the lab. It was a large room filled with various instruments, test tubes and other stuff. "This is amazing," Rachel gasped.

"I'm glad you find a liking to it," the scientist said, coming up behind her.

"Okay, class. We're almost at the site where you can go diving. This site is not as deep as other parts so everyone should be able to reach the bottom. You are supposed to find something that we can later examine and over the course of the year figure out what it is," Mr. Martin explained, "The designated divers follow Dr. Alder to the changing rooms."

"That's me. Got to go," Rachel said, leaving the lab.

A while later everyone got together at the back of the boat, where the divers would dive down from. "Now I've already explained to the divers how they do it, so you're ready to go. Jim over here is an expert diver, so he will help anyone, who has a problem," Dr. Alder told everyone, motioning towards his assistant.

Rachel walked over to the girls in a wet suit. "Any requests?" Rachel asked.

"Don't stick out," Amber suggested.

"Very funny," Rachel replied.

"We're fine with anything," Emily told her and Rachel nodded.

"Hey Taylor, why aren't you diving?" Heath asked, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

"We only need one and Rachel has the most experience," Taylor answered.

"Too bad. I think you would look much nicer in that wet suit," Heath said, "Come on, Rachel. Looks like we're up."

Indeed the two adults were waving for the divers to come to them. "Wish me luck," Rachel smiled before leaving her friends.

"I hope she'll be alright," Sarah muttered, watching Rachel get into the water.

"She'll be fine," Emily assured her, "Besides, it's not we could go." All four mermaids had to nod to that.

Meanwhile Rachel slowly submerged underwater. The feeling of an air tank on her back annoyed her. How could normal people dive like this? There was no freedom whatsoever. Not to mention the pure oxygen took some getting used to. Rachel thought she would have had fun, but like this it was just horrible. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she took one last deep breath and pulled her mouth piece out. Better. She knew she couldn't take off the air tank, so this was the most relief she could get.

Swimming like a mermaid, she quickly got to the bottom of the ocean, where she let her eyes wander. There were many fragments of shells and plants, but one thing caught her eye. It was a scale. A bronze scale, which reminded her a lot of a mermaid's one. Having made her choice, Rachel put the scale in a small sample box and slowly made her way back to the surface. Shortly before she broke the surface, she remembered to put in the mouth piece.

Back above she was greeted by an astonished Dr. Alder and Mr. Martin. "You're back very quickly, Rachel," Mr. Martin told her.

"Well, I've dived before so I'm used to it," Rachel replied, which wasn't even a lie, sort of.

"You found a good specimen?" the teacher asked and Rachel nodded, showing him the scale, "Very interesting. I don't recall ever seeing a scale like this." Rachel simply shrugged as she took of the air tank and gave it to Dr. Alder.

The four mermaids came up to the group to look as well. They stared. "That looks a lot like a..," Emily began, softly, but stopped herself. The girls nodded.

"But it isn't," Rachel assured them.

"Rachel," Dr. Adler called her.

"What is it?" Rachel asked.

"Something seems to be wrong with your air tank. The display says that barely any oxygen was used," the scientist told her.

Rachel felt panic raise inside her. She had forgotten that there was a needle, which showed the amount of oxygen. "Maybe the display is broken," she suggested.

"Maybe," he muttered, but then more divers came up, distracting him.

The girls stared at Rachel. "You try breathing that air. It's horrible," she told them.

A while later everyone was back in the lab. On a table stood the gathered specimens. "Well, it seems everyone was able to find something, some very interesting ones at that," Dr. Alder added, "You are now allowed to use some of these instruments to make some preliminary examinat…What the!" Suddenly the ship lurched sideways, causing everyone to fall down.

"What is going on?" Mr. Martin asked as everyone crowded the portholes. What they saw made them gasp. Around them waves were crashing against the boat. This wouldn't be strange, if the sky wasn't a bright blue and the ocean in the distance as calm as could be.

"Don't worry. We're probably over some underwater air compartment which set itself free. It'll be over with soon," Dr. Alder told them.

The five mermaids however knew better. Carefully they made their way to the door, undetected by the others. "The person is trying to capsize the ship," Emily said.

"If they succeed, everyone is in big trouble," Taylor added.

"But we can't just leave. They'll notice us," Sarah objected.

"What's more important? Our secret or their lives?" Amber asked.

Rachel, who had said nothing until now, spoke up, "Go. I'll cover for you."

"Are you sure?" Emily inquired.

"Go. I can't help you there," Rachel repeated. The four mermaids nodded and hurried off.

Outside a wind was blowing hard as well. "So what do we do?" Taylor asked, but another wave collided with the side of the boat, sending the four overboard.

Surfacing next to the boat, Sarah said, "I can feel the magic. We have to stop it."

"I'll stop the propeller before it pulls us in," Taylor added and they submerged again. While Amber, Sarah and Emily each raised their hands and activated their powers to oppose the unknown magic, Taylor swam around the ship to the propeller, which was spinning at an accelerated pace, but not moving the ship at all. Taylor used her magic to solidify the water around the propeller, freezing it in its place. With a smile Taylor returned to the rest. They were trying their best to keep the water calm, but it still brought waves crashing against the ship every once in a while. Looking down, she thought she saw a shadow. After blinking it was gone. Her eyes must be playing tricks on her, Taylor thought with a shrug and added her power to the others.

Meanwhile Rachel stared out the window worried. "Hey Rachel," Heath said, making her turn around, "Where are the others?"

That made everyone look up, realizing that four people were gone. "Bathroom," she replied, curtly.

"All four of them?" he inquired, doubtfully.

"We're girls, we do that," Rachel retorted.

"And why didn't you go?" Heath asked.

"Because I didn't have to go," Rachel snapped, "I'll go look for them."

"Rachel wait!" Mr. Martin call after her, but she didn't hear him and a moment later the ship rocked once more, making it impossible for anyone to follow.

Standing at the railing, Rachel could feel the magical conflict below. She could even feel, which magic belonged to who. She reached her hand out towards the water and activated her power. "Take it. It might not be much, but take it," she whispered. Suddenly the enemy magic gave way. Immediately the boat stopped rocking. "What the," Rachel muttered, surprised, but then she saw the four mermaids surface at the back of the boat.

"You did it," Rachel called as she hurried to them.

"It was strange. Their power just stopped. As though it was trying to say, I've had enough for today," Sarah said.

"We don't have time for this. We have to get out of the water," Emily reminded them.

Rachel nodded and reached her hand out to Amber. Pulling her up, Rachel grunted, "Why are you so heavy?"

"It's not my fault the tail weighs a ton," Amber retorted. Together they pulled out Emily and Taylor next.

Just as they were going to pull out Sarah, they heard people coming on deck. "Hurry," Sarah hissed as she was roughly pulled aboard, grazing several scales off her tail in the process, "Ouch."

"No time for an apology," Amber said as she quickly dried them.

A moment after they had transformed back, the others appeared before them. "So this is where you went," Mr. Martin said, coming up to them, "Why did you leave the lab? You could have been injured. Or worse swept from the boat." While he kept on ranting, Rachel noticed that Sarah's scales were laying on the deck. Carefully she used her foot to wipe them off the boat. One however got stuck under a nail. Pretending to tie her shoe, Rachel kneeled down and plucked it from its place. Seeing it would be too obvious to throw away, she put it in a sample jar that she had kept from before. Then Rachel straightened herself again.

"I guess we won't be able to do anymore test on your samples, but if you would be so kind to help me clean up my lab a bit, I would appreciate it," Dr. Alder said. The class agreed and they went back to the lab.

Starting to pick things up, Rachel found their sample on the floor. Luckily it was undamaged. She placed it next to Sarah's scale on the right and then went back to picking up more jars. Looking up, Rachel saw Dr. Alder holding one of the jars. "Which one did you take?" Rachel asked as panic rose up inside her.

"The right one," the scientist answered and Rachel sighed with relief. Quickly she pocketed Sarah's scale before anything else could happen to it.

They soon arrived on dry land again and were allowed to go home. "I really don't understand the person who's attacking us. First they attack and then they suddenly disappear. Not to mention what happened with Rachel and her mom," Amber huffed.

"We aren't getting any closer to him or her, either. He's flawless so far," Sarah pointed out.

"They'll have to slip up one of these days and then we'll get him," Emily assured them, "Even if today was a close shave for us." "

Speaking of which, I have a scale of yours, Sarah," Rachel told them, producing it from her pocket, "Do you want it?"

"As much as that is my flesh, no thanks," Sarah replied and Rachel placed it back in her pocket with a shrug.

"Do you think the person just wants to expose us?" Emily suggested.

"But what would they gain from that? They're a mermaid too, right?" Amber objected.

Taylor walked silently next to them. Had that shadow really been part of her imagination? Maybe, but what if not? Could it be… No, it couldn't be. She shook her head and went on.

**A/N: **That was a close call for Rachel. Again the objective of the enemy is blurred and Taylor finds herself staying in Australia. Which means she stays with her friends, but also with James. What could this revelation bring? Please review.


	8. Concussion

**A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone had wonderful holidays. Sadly for me it's of to school soon. Thanks to all who are reading. Here is chapter 8. Enjoy!**

**CelticH20 Thank you for pointing that out to me. I changed it. I appreciate an attentive reader.  
**

**Kat Yes they do know they're mermaids. They found out towards the end of the first story.  
**

****_Previously... Taylor was allowed to stay at the Gold Coast longer by her mom. Now all five are back in school and the first excursion took place. While on a boat collecting ocean samples the boat is attacked by waves. Luckily they were able to stop it before anyone got hurt. Meanwhile James' and Taylor's relationship is under strain. Now on to the chapter.  
_

Chapter 8: Concussion

Taylor stared out at the ocean. She had finally been able to find some alone time. While Rachel was at the science club, Sarah, Amber and Emily had decided to take a walk with their boyfriends. When they had asked her, if it was alright, Taylor had more than willingly let them go. Now she sat on the beach, enjoying the solitude. Back in Ireland she hadn't had many friends, making this completely new territory. It was exhausting and at the same time so much fun, but most of all it was a web of lies. She was lying to James about being a mermaid, to the others about James and so much more. If anything was ever found out, would they ever forgive her?

"What are you sulking about?" someone asked. Looking up, Taylor saw James coming up to her.

"Nothing. Everything is fine," Taylor lied as he sat down next to her.

"How did you ever get rid of the others?" he questioned.

"Emily and the others are walking with their boyfriends," Taylor answered.

"And you didn't think of calling me?" James inquired. Disappointment was laced into his voice. Taylor cursed herself. Of course it was only natural that a boyfriend would want to be with his girlfriend as much as possible. It just showed how new she was at the whole concept.

"Sorry. I just wanted to be alone for a bit," Taylor explained, "It's all just a lot to take in."

Instead of the expected reprimand, James wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. "It's okay," he murmured into her hair. Taylor closed her eyes, enjoying the moment that she could feel his chest rise and fall.

Silently they sat there together, simply relishing in each others' company. Taylor inhaled his scent as she leaned, eyes closed, against him. Then he tilted her head up and leaned in to kiss her. Willingly stretched her neck towards him. Suddenly she had the feeling of being watched and Taylor snapped her eyes back open. Cautiously she scanned the ocean, but she could only see a ripple. "Something wrong?" James asked, startled by her abrupt movement. She simply shook her head, though she was more than sure that someone had been watching them, but who?

"So what do you say we go for a swim?" James suggested.

"I'm not prepared for a swim. I don't have a bathing suit with me," Taylor objected.

"We don't really have to go swimming. Just splash around and such," James explained and then added, when she still hesitated, "Or we could just go for a walk along the beach."

"Like I already said I went here to be alone," Taylor told him, carefully, trying to say it in a way that didn't hurt his feelings, but how exactly do you say something like that.

"I get it," James muttered and got up, "I'll see you later."

Watching James leave, Taylor felt like just those words, those sort of icy words, could rip her heart out. She hated herself for lying. It made her wondered how long she would be able to keep up with all these lies. If her lies weren't exposed by action, she would soon expose herself, just to feel better. Even if that meant the cost of many things that were dear and precious to her. She sighed. Why had things ended up like this? Taylor got up, staring at the ocean.

"Earth to Taylor!" someone shouted, making the blonde flinch due to the volume.

Turning around, Taylor came face to face with Rachel. "Rachel. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry. I called so many times, but you didn't hear me," Rachel replied, "What's up? You seemed down."

"It's all just too much," Taylor admitted, "James, the others, simply everything. I've wondered so many times what would happen, if I just told everyone the truth."

"Though I obviously can't tell you how Emily would react, I can only tell you that you should do what you feel is the best for you," Rachel told her as she watched her friend, who said nothing, "It's really bothering you, isn't it?" Taylor nodded. "Then I hope you will find the answer soon," Rachel whispered.

"I just wish that I could at least explain to James why I'm so distant, not only of the water, but him as well."

"Just wait. Fate has a strange way of making things happen," Rachel told her, "God knows that's why you're here in the first place."

Taylor had to chuckle. "Thanks, Rachel. What are you doing here anyway?" Taylor asked.

"Science club ended. I was on my way home when I saw you," Rachel answered, "Listen, I spoke with Mr. Martin. He said that Dr. Alder would be giving him the samples soon, so we should soon be able to start in science class with them. I can't wait to find out what that scale really is."

"You really love science, don't you?" Taylor questioned and Rachel simply smiled.

Just then Taylor's phone rang. "Hello… Oh, hey you guys… You ditched your boyfriends already?… Rachel is with me… Sure, we'll see you there… Bye," Taylor said before she hung up and looked at the brunette, " That was Sarah. It seems the three finished their dates and they asked us, if we would want to meet them at the promenade. I accepted on your behalf."

"Then lets go," Rachel replied and the two walked to their destination.

A short while later the two found the others standing at the beginning of the promenade. "That was a fast date," Rachel remarked with a smirk.

"The guys still had stuff to do," Sarah explained.

"Lets hope it doesn't include seeing another girl," Taylor joked.

"They wouldn't dare mess with mermaids," Amber said in a threatening voice, which made them all laugh.

"So what's the plan?" Taylor asked.

"Stroll the promenade, do some shopping, some ice cream perhaps," Emily listed. The five mermaids all nodded and began down the walkway. Like they had agreed shopped and later got ice cream.

After they were finished they walked down the beach on their way home. They had come to a fairly secluded part of the beach, where usually you found teenagers and such hung out, playing in the water or sunbathing. Now there were a few groups around, but it was not as crowded as it usually was. The five chatted away as they walked by.

A bit ahead Taylor spotted James with some of his friends in the water and her stomach twisted in knots as their eyes met. Even though she was too far away to be able to read his features, she knew that James was disappointed in her. She wouldn't go to the beach with him, but it was a different matter with his sister. Quickly Taylor turned to look at the ocean. "Everything alright?" Sarah asked, noticing her friend's behavior.

"Everything's fine," Taylor answered, waving her off. They kept walking.

Even though Taylor continued to stare out at the ocean, it wasn't until a shrill shriek that any of them noticed that something was wrong. They looked up to see a girl their age, struggling to stay on her feet, even though she was only up to her knees in the water. "Take my hand," Rachel instructed and the girl grabbed a hold with a vice that Rachel feared that her circulation would be cut off.

With a lot of effort Rachel was able to pull the girl out, who fell into her arms. "Thank you," she sobbed.

"What happened?" Emily asked.

"The current suddenly became really strong and started to pull me under," the girl explained and then ran off to her friends, who quickly fled the beach. The girls turned their attention to the ocean. Though they couldn't see the current, they could see that several people had problems keeping upright, even in shallow water.

"Everyone get out of the water and get away from the beach!" Emily commanded as people, who were either on the beach or could free themselves from the flow, sprinted for the street. What was left were two or three people stuck in the water.

"Rachel, pull them out while we try to stop the current," Sarah said and Rachel nodded, hurrying towards the closest person. The other four mermaids raised their hands and activated their magic, which they used to grasp the water. They could fell the force of the other user and they pulled back and forth, almost as though the water were a tug-o-war rope.

Rachel was able to release two of the three captives and was heading for the last one, when Taylor looked over to see, if James was still there. What she saw stopped her heart. He was treading water, only his head still perceptible. However he seemed to be doing okay. Yet, shouldn't she tell the others so they could save him too, if he didn't make it. Taylor looked over to the others, but they were busy and then back to James. Or where he had been. Now only his splashing hands were still visible and then nothing at all. Horrified, without a second thought, Taylor dropped her magic and jumped into the water, zooming towards him. Quickly she saw James thrashing about, trying to get back to the surface, but the current, that was pulling him under, was too strong. She swam to him and grabbed his shoulder, trying to pull him up against the will of the current.

Suddenly a horrible shot through her head as one of his flailing arms made contact with her temple. Everything went dark for a moment and when she opened her eyes she saw James sinking deeper and deeper below her, but it was clear that he had barely an oxygen left. Despite her protesting head, Taylor dove after him and was finally able to grab a hold of him, just as the last of his breath escaped him. With the last of her energy Taylor began pulling James to shore. Halfway to the surface the tide seemed to weaken and then stop completely. Finally she was able to break the surface and pull him ashore. Luckily everyone had fled the beach and so no one was here.

"James, James, wake up," Taylor said, terrified, softly slapping his cheek, but got no reaction and then even checked, if he was breathing, "No, you can't be..." Carefully she tilted back his head and opened his mouth. Taylor pressed her lips to James' and started giving CPR. "Please be alright," she prayed as tried to reanimate him. It seemed like hours, but then James sputtered and the water came out of his mouth. He started to breath again. "Thank god," she whispered, leaning back.

"Taylor!" Rachel, Sarah, Emily and Amber exclaimed as they hurried up to her.

"Oh my god James!" Emily cried out when she saw her brother on the ground, not moving.

"Don't worry. He'll be fine," Taylor told her.

"Thank you, Taylor," Emily sighed as she sank to the ground with relief, "I would hug you, but you know…"

Taylor nodded. "You stopped the water?" she asked.

"It suddenly just stopped and then we made sure that everyone was gone, in case another attack comes. That's when we saw you," Amber explained.

Just then James began to stir. "Quick. Into the water," Sarah hissed and Taylor dove in just before he opened his eyes.

"What happened?" he muttered.

"You were pulled under by a strong current," Amber explained.

"How do you feel?" Emily asked.

"Fine, considering," James answered and then looked around, "Where is Taylor? I thought I saw her with you earlier."

The four girls stared at each other. "I'm calling mom. She's going to drive you to the hospital to get a check up," Emily interrupted him as she pulled out her phone and stepped away to call her parents.

After a few minutes Emma and Ash arrived, anxious, but happy that their son was alive. While Ash helped James into the car, Emma stayed behind. "Taylor," she said and the mermaid appeared at the surface, "Thank you so much. You saved him. You can stay at our house as long as you want."

"It was nothing," Taylor replied and then Emma turned to hurry back to the car.

"We should get you back to normal before anyone shows up here," Rachel said and Taylor nodded.

"Leave it to me," Amber added as she balled her fist. As Taylor started to dry, the pain, which had been present in her head pretty bad, exploded, making her clutch her head. Immediately Amber stopped her magic. "Are you alright? Did I hurt you?" Amber asked, horrified.

"No… It's just… My head hurts," Taylor muttered, "James hit me by accident while I rescued him."

"Could it be you have a concussion," Sarah suggested, worried.

"Then we shouldn't move you, let alone turn you back into a human," Emily objected.

"It's not like I can stay a mermaid the whole time," Taylor retorted.

"I agree. She can't stay like this," Rachel agreed.

"Should I do it slowly or fast?" Amber asked.

"Just get it over with," Taylor told her and Amber nodded. Quickly Amber balled her fist and Taylor instantly felt how she was drying and that her head erupted in pain again, but then it subsided after she had transformed.

"You alright?" Rachel asked and Taylor nodded.

"Can you stand?" Emily questioned, "You should get to bed as soon as possible." Taylor tried to push herself up, but her head protested too much.

"Maybe if we cool it a bit," Sarah suggested and Emily nodded. Gingerly Emily placed her hands on Taylor's temples and a moment later Taylor felt a smoothing cold wash over her head, dulling the throbbing.

"Thanks," Taylor muttered as Emily released her grip.

"We should get you to a hospital as well," Rachel suggested.

"That's not necessary," Taylor waved them off, "Besides it's too dangerous with all the water there."

"Well, Lewis should still look at you," Sarah insisted, "He's not a doctor, but as a scientist he knows enough to know how to proceed." Taylor reluctantly gave in and let herself be helped up.

The walk home was a long and tasking one. More than once did they have to stop to cool Taylor's head, but finally they made it. Sarah had called ahead and thus Lewis and Cleo were already waiting at Emily's house when they arrived. They quickly ushered Taylor into a chair. After Lewis had examined her, he told everyone, "Good news. It's only a light concussion as far as I can tell. However you should still rest for a few days. It was a good idea to cool her head with your magic."

"I'll bring you to bed," Cleo said. The pregnant woman carefully helped Taylor up and together they made their way slowly upstairs. Once there Taylor immediately fell asleep as soon as her head it the pillow.

She woke up with a start when she realized that someone had entered her room, but not without her head protesting. When she looked up she saw James. Before she could say anything, he asked, "I heard you got a concussion. How are you?"

"Better now," Taylor answered, "How about you? Emily told me you nearly drowned."

"Yeah, it was pretty close," James agreed, but then paused for a second, "Actually that's why I wanted to talk to you." Taylor nodded, slightly, but didn't say anything. "Back when the current was pulling me under, I thought I saw something coming towards me. I saw you, but you didn't have legs. You had a tail. You were a mermaid," James told her.

Taylor stared at him horrified. What now? Should she just own up or deny it all? "That's just ridiculous. You were drowning. Your imagination was going haywire," Taylor objected with a laugh.

"And yet you don't go into the water. Where did you get your concussion from?" James demanded to know.

"If you must know, while everyone was fleeing the beach, someone knocked into me and I fell against a tree," Taylor lied.

Before either one could say anything, the door opened and Emily came in. "Is everything okay in here?" she asked, her eyes first on Taylor and then her brother.

"Yeah, everything is fine," James answered and turned to leave, "I was just seeing how Taylor was doing." With that he left.

"Is that true?" Emily inquired, "I thought I heard fighting."

"No. I just told him how I got a concussion, that's all," Taylor replied.

Emily nodded and then told her, "It's already pretty late. I came here to bring you some soup." In silence Emily watched Taylor eat her soup and then cool her head once more. "Don't worry about school tomorrow. We'll excuse you. Rest," Emily said as she quietly closed the door.

Taylor closed her eyes and pretend to go to sleep. However it was impossible. James knew what she was. What was she supposed to do? Pretend it never happened and move on? Taylor mulled it over in her head until the throbbing became unbearable and exhaustion finally caught up with her. She fell into a unruly sleep with a weird dream.

When she woke up the sun was shining into her room and it was almost noon. Taylor took a sip of water from a glass that was next to her on a nightstand beside another bowl of soup. However she wasn't hungry and decided to save it for later. It was already cold either way.

"So you're finally awake," a voice said, making her head snap around, but not without a sharp pain going through it. Opening her eyes from the pain, her gaze fell on James. She backed up a bit, startled and at the same time for a safe distance between them. Something about him scared her.

"Where is Emily?" Taylor asked, stammering, trying to get his mind on something else.

"At school," James replied, "And mom is out shopping." So no one was home, except for them. Now Taylor was scared.

They sat their in silence for a while and then James said, "I know what you are, Taylor. Don't deny it."

"And I still say you're crazy. There is no such thing as mermaids," Taylor retorted.

"But it would all fit with you, wouldn't it? That's why you don't go into the ocean," he accused her.

"I am just not a fan of water," Taylor objected.

"Would you stop lying already," James demanded and with that grabbed the glass and poured its content all over Taylor.

Taylor froze, but then her head exploded in pain as she transformed into a mermaid. When she looked up at James, she saw that he was shocked, completely speechless. "What? Isn't this what you expected?" Taylor asked, but when he still didn't say anything added, "Say something. Anything."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I guess even though I thought it was true, I still can't really believe it, even though I see it before me. How did this happen?"

With a sigh Taylor began to tell her story. Of course with a bit of editing. Once again she held back the fact that she was adopted and that the other four were mermaids. She had met Emily online and they had come visit her. After she had finished retelling her story, James stared at her for a moment. "So my sister and her friends know nothing about all this?" he concluded.

"Yes," Taylor replied, "And I would prefer it, if it stayed that way."

James leaned over to her and smiled, "You're secret is safe with me." With that he bend over and kissed her. "Get well soon, my little mermaid," he whispered and then left.

Taylor stared at the door for a while longer after it was closed again. It felt like a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She had finally owned up to one lie and it had turned out alright, but at the same time several others took its place. Now she was lying to James about the others not being mermaids and to the others that James didn't know what she was. However at the moment she didn't care. Her heart was skipping with joy.

"Fate has strange ways of making things happen, huh," Taylor muttered with a smile.

**A/N: **The secret is out. At least part of it is. Will Taylor be able to keep up the facades of her lies? What will happen with the sample that Rachel got from the ocean? Please review.


	9. Sample

**A/N: School really is brutal, but I'm back with a new chapter. Thanks goes out to all my readers. Here is chapter 9. Enjoy!**

_Previously... After their science trip with Dr. Alder, Taylor was having more and more trouble keeping her mermaid half from James. Then James got caught in a wave, Taylor rescues him, but acquiring a concussion in the process. James also finds out she is a mermaid and confronts her. Taylor admits it and there love is stronger than ever. Now on to the chapter.  
_

Chapter 9: Sample

Carefully Rachel washed the test tubes, while the rest of the science club members cleared away other things. They were just about finished for the day and the only thing left to do was to tidy things up. When they had finished, Rachel grabbed her bag and was about to follow the rest out when Mr. Martin came in. "Rachel, would you stay back for a moment," Mr. Martin said and she nodded, unsure of what he wanted.

"What is it?" Rachel asked.

"Don't worry. You're not in trouble," he assured her, "Someone wishes to meet you." Meet her? Now Rachel was really curious.

Turning around, she saw Dr. Alder enter the science room. "Hello Rachel," Dr. Alder greeted her, reaching his hand out to her.

"Dr. Alder. It's a pleasure to see you again," Rachel smiled, shaking his hand.

"The pleasure is all mine," he replied as Mr. Martin left the room to give them some privacy.

"What can I do for you?" Rachel asked, "You surely didn't take time out of your busy schedule just to say hi to me." "

You really are smart, Rachel. I like that," Dr. Alder told her, making Rachel blush, slightly, "You're right. I came here to ask you where you got that scale from." Rachel's heart stopped. What was going on? He had the normal fish scale, right?

"It's a normal scale. What does it matter?" Rachel inquired.

"I'll tell you this in the confidence that you won't tell anyone. That scale turns to human flesh when it is dry and changes back when it is touched by water," the scientist explained. The world seemed to be spinning and Rachel had to grab a hold of a table to steady herself. So he had taken Sarah's scale by accident. Dr. Alder gave her a worried look, but said nothing.

"I found it at the bottom of the ocean, remember," Rachel lied.

"Don't lie to me, Rachel. I know that is not true. In the lab you had two specimen jars, but you only brought one back up," Alder retorted.

"I got it from the ocean," Rachel repeated, "I found two and wanted to keep one, so I only showed you one of them."

The was a long silence and Rachel debated on whether or not just to grab her stuff and go. Just as she had decided to do that, Dr. Alder asked, "Do you intend to work the scientific field?"

"What?" Rachel replied, confused at what the question had to do with anything.

"Do you intend to become a scientist?" he repeated.

"It would be a dream come true," Rachel answered.

"If you work with me, I can open doors for you that you didn't even know existed," Dr. Alder told her, "However if you work against me… Well lets say you won't ever get a job as a scientist." Rachel stared at him astonished. He couldn't do that, could he? It took all of her control not to make a faucet explode behind him, knowing it would only prove his suspicions about her.

"Good day, Dr. Alder," Rachel finally said through clenched teeth, grabbed her bag and left.

In the hallway she ran into Mr. Martin. "Ah, Rachel. You done talking with Dr. Alder already?" he asked, "What did he want?"

"He just asked me something about where I found the scale," Rachel answered, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, "I didn't know anything though. See you tomorrow, Mr. Martin." Quickly Rachel continued walking. She didn't want to be in the same building as that scientist anymore. Not to mention there was something she had to check on.

As Rachel went past her locker she quickly opened it and pulled out the small jar with the sample in it. She had hoped to possibly do an experiment or two on Sarah's scale and to be of help like that to the real mermaids, but she hadn't had the chance to do so inconspicuously. Now she cursed herself for not having at least checked that she really had the right scale. Checking to make sure that no one was watching, Rachel dumped the water into a fountain and balled her fist. "Please," she begged, "Please, turn into flesh." Smoke was starting to rise from the scale, but still nothing happened. Suddenly it caught fire and Rachel dropped it, stomping it out. It was definitely a normal scale.

As she carefully scooped up the remains of the scale, despair started to consume Rachel. However it quickly turned into rage. "Damn it!" Rachel yelled as she slammed her hand against the row of lockers so hard that she knew it would turn black and blue later. Her anger vented, Rachel slid down the lockers to the ground. As she sat there it hit her. The others. They were in trouble now. Dr. Alder wasn't dumb. If he figured out that it wasn't from her then it had to be from someone close to her. Slowly Rachel got up and walked towards the exit of the school. It shamed her. Her attempt to help her friends had turned into the exact opposite. Something far more dangerous. How was she supposed to tell them this?

Rachel didn't need to call any of her friends to know where they were. Single minded she walked the streets, not once wavering on her path. Finally she stopped in front of Emily's house. After ringing, Emma opened the door. With a nod Rachel greeted her and then walked upstairs where she knew that she would find her friends. Opening the door, she was met with the innocent faces of her four friends. Their happy faces made Rachel feel even worse.

"Hey," they greeted her.

"Hey," Rachel replied as she walked up to them, "How are you, Taylor?"

The blonde that had gotten a concussion saving her boyfriend a few days ago smiled back, "Besides being bored to tears fine. Though I think I can go to school again tomorrow."

"You might want to put that off for a while," Rachel muttered, nervously, "All of you for that matter…"

The four mermaids stared at her. "What do you mean?" Amber asked.

"Is something the matter? You seem weird," Sarah added.

Rachel stared from one to the next and finally took a deep breath. "Remember how I kept that scale from you, Sarah? Well,… Dr. Alder sort of got his hands on it and confronted me about it today."

For a moment the room was silent, the words that had been said slowly sinking in and then all hell broke loose. "What!" Sarah, Amber and Emily exclaimed, followed by many questions all muddled into one large ball of shouts. It only stopped when they saw that Taylor was holding her head. "Sorry," they whispered.

"What happened?" Taylor asked, calmly. So Rachel explained. How she had kept Sarah's scale from being seen, over when Dr. Alder must have taken the wrong one by mistake, all the way to how he showed up in school, making her realize her mistake. The four mermaids silently listened to their friend's telling, not interrupting her once.

"I'm really sorry," Rachel finished, "Had I known he had gotten his hands on the scale, I would have done something about it."

"We know," Sarah said, "We know you would never endanger us on purpose."

"It was just a shock," Emily added.

"Are you sure that he took the right one by accident?" Amber asked, making everyone look up, "It sure seems like a pretty big coincidence that he just happens to choose Sarah's scale in all the commotion."

"Actually I have been wondering that myself. Even if he did take the scale, the only way he would have found out was by examining it," Rachel admitted, "Why would a renowned scientist look at the samples some class found?"

"You think there is more to it?" Taylor inquired.

"We'll find out," Rachel assured them.

"Shouldn't we get out sample back tomorrow?" Emily asked, "We are supposed to work with it."

"Lets worry about that later. I'm hungry," Amber said.

"Good idea. Lets make something," Sarah replied.

"I'll come too," Taylor smiled.

"No, you're not," Emily retorted,"You shouldn't stress yourself."

"Coming downstairs and eating is strenuous?" Taylor asked, "Come on. I can use my powers almost pain free again. I'm fine."

"Fine, but we'll come get you once it's done. Rest until then," Emily gave in.

"Don't worry. We should be done in about 20 minutes," Sarah assured her as they got up and left.

Taylor flopped back into her pillow. She hated being confined to this room, especially now that she was feeling better. Growing restless as the days accumulated, Taylor knew there was really only one reason why she hadn't already just left. Just then there was a knock on the door. Her reason. James peeked into her room and smiled at her when he saw that she was alone. His visits had been more frequent and longer now that she had had to stay home while the rest of the family had to work or go to school. Often they talked, especially about mermaids, now that he knew about her. That was definitely a plus. She didn't have to lie to him. That much…

After he kissed her, James asked, "How are you?"

"Good," Taylor answered, "I think I'll go back to school tomorrow."

"You hate my company that much?" James questioned, playing the hurt.

"I love your company. I just hate the inactive part about it," Taylor smiled.

"Fine, I'll overlook it," James gave in, "Under one condition?"

"Which?" Rachel asked.

"You show me your powers and transform," James listed. Taylor understood the request. Due to her concussion anything having to do with magic had been out of the question, since it had been too painful. James had agreed to wait until she was better before she showed him.

Taylor nodded as she turned to a glass of water on her night stand and activated her powers. A pang of pain went through her head, but she ignored it. It was definitely nothing compared to the pain she had felt only a few days ago. She nodded and James picked up the glass. "Amazing," he gasped as he held it above his head, "It's jelly."

"You shouldn't do that. It'll…," Taylor began, but her warning came too late as the jelly turned back into water, dumping itself all over James as well as a few drops on Taylor, "Sorry. I only transformed it for a moment, but, hey, I'm going to transform." Just as she said that she transformed. This time the pain was more intense, but again bearable.

James just stared down at her. "Beautiful," he finally whispered, "You're beautiful."

"You're exaggerating," Taylor replied, "You saw me before remember?"

"Well, it's a bit different when you see a mermaid and you're drowning," James said.

"You should get going through," Taylor told him, "They're going to get me for lunch soon." With a scowl James gave Taylor a quick kiss before heading out again.

Only a few seconds later Taylor already heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Cursing Taylor maneuvered her tail under the blanket and pulling it all the way to her chin. How was she going to explain this? The door opened and Rachel came in. Silently Taylor let out a sigh of relief. Had it been any of the others the explanation would have been a lot harder to give.

Rachel immediately noticed what was going on. "Why are you a mermaid?" Rachel asked, but then answered the question herself, "So you finally told James?"

"Well, actually he found out during the waves," Taylor answered.

"Wow, you don't get to talk for a few days and this happens," Rachel muttered, sitting down on Taylor's bed.

"Well, it's not like we were ever really alone," Taylor replied and Rachel just shrugged, nodding.

"So how is he taking it?" Rachel asked.

"Amazingly well," Taylor told her, "But how about we get some food? I'm pretty sure the others are waiting. Especially Amber." The two friends laughed as Rachel used her powers to dry her. With a stabbing pain Taylor transformed back and they went down to eat.

The following day the five girls sat anxiously in science class. Taylor had gone back to school, even though Emily had said it might be too early, and had simply called her a mother hen. Just then Mr. Martin walked in, the samples in tow. "Good morning class," he greeted them, "As you can see we'll start working on your samples that you collected a while back. I have a big surprise."

In walked Dr. Alder. "What is he doing here?" Rachel asked, a bit too loudly so that Mr. Martin overheard it and Rachel blushed, "It's just doesn't Dr. Alder have a lot of work to do himself?"

"Took some time out of my schedule to be here. I find it important to sponsor young talent," Dr. Alder explained.

"I see," Rachel muttered, trying to keep her dislike for the guy in check.

"Anyway, come up, get your samples and start with the experiments like instructed," Mr. Martin told them. Rachel volunteered to get it and walked up to the teacher's desk. As she grabbed her small jar, she eyes Dr. Alder, who simply smiled at her as though nothing was wrong. Was he just going to let her take it? Then again he had little other choice, if he wanted to remain inconspicuous.

The lesson went without any interruption. Amazingly enough Dr. Alder kept his distance and showed no more interest in the mermaids' group than he did to the others. Rachel kept an eye on him, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. At the end of the class, she asked, "Mr. Martin, can I take the sample home? I'd like to do my own experiment on it, if that's alright with you." That had to make Dr. Alder force his hand, if he didn't want to lose possession of the scale.

"That's fine. I know you won't do anything stupid with it," Mr. Martin answered. With that Rachel packed the sample and followed her friends out of the classroom. Dr. Alder remained silent.

The rest of the school day went by and the five sat in Sarah's backyard. "I can't believe he just let us walk out with it," Taylor said, "We sure are lucky."

"Nothing he could do. He can't seem suspicious," Sarah replied with a shrug.

"But didn't you find that too easy?" Amber asked.

"Why? He could hardly not give us our sample," Emily answered.

"Still, I agree with Amber. It was too easy. He didn't as much as flinch when I asked to take the scale," Rachel told them.

"Maybe you should be less suspicious," Sarah said.

"Or maybe you should be more suspicious," Amber retorted, "Rachel, hand it to me." Silently Rachel handed it to the blond, who just placed it on the ground in front of her. Slowly she balled her fist. The five girls stared at the scale, waiting for it to turn back into flesh. Suddenly it burst into flame. "I'm guessing this isn't our scale," Amber said the small fire died down.

"So he gave us a decoy?" Sarah asked.

"No wonder he was so calm," Emily muttered, "He had the real one all along."

"Rachel?" Taylor asked, seeing her friend's shaking figure, suddenly she jumped up, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to visit him," Rachel told her.

"Then let us come along," Sarah insisted.

"No way. If he goes around splashing water, there is no way to keep all this a secret," Rachel retorted, "I have to go alone."

Emily simply nodded, while Amber said, firmly, "Let us at least follow you in the water. We'll stay out of the way, but if you get into trouble we can save you. I don't trust that creep." Rachel nodded curtly and hurried off, while her friends ran to the water.

"You should stay here, Taylor," Emily said.

"And let you face that maniac alone?" Taylor retorted, "No way. I'm coming along." Emily nodded and they jumped into the water.

A while later Rachel reached the docks where Dr. Alder kept his boat, which was also his lab. Rachel couldn't see her friends, but she guessed that that was the point. She didn't bother with knocking or other pleasantries and just entered. Remembering the way from last time, she quickly found the lab, where Dr. Alder was bent over a microscope. "Dr. Alder," Rachel said, making him look up. He didn't seem surprised to see her.

"I expected you here soon," was all he replied.

"You gave us a decoy," Rachel told him, stepping closer, her rage apparent.

"Did I?" he asked, acting surprised, "Silly me."

"Give it back to me," Rachel ordered, "What will that one scale get you? One whose origin you don't even know." "Lots. This is a revolution. Imagine what would happen, if I actually find people with such DNA," Dr. Alder told her. Only now did Rachel look at what he was doing. On the wall was a picture of DNA, which made her breath get caught in her throat. A few years ago out of love to science and curiosity, she had made a picture of her own DNA. It matched.

"You stole my DNA!" she exclaimed. Dr. Alder said nothing. How? Then it came to Rachel. She had seen him walk past her seat several times that afternoon. It would have been easy to take her DNA. Not just hers for that matter… "You took all of our DNA," Rachel whispered, horrified. What if he had already checked the others?

"So far I have only finished your DNA," Dr. Alder told her, as though he was reading her mind, "It confirmed my suspicion that it wasn't your DNA. However I am more than a hundred percent sure that one of your little group has this DNA."

Suddenly the ship began rocking side to side. "The others," Rachel remembered. She wasn't alone. "Dr. Alder, you don't want to make me your enemy," she warned him.

Quickly he took two strides, covering the distance between them and pinned her to a counter. Rachel tried to free herself, but he was too strong. "Are you sure you should be threatening me? I think I might be a too big of a fish to fry," he growled into her ear, "Now why don't you do us both a favor and tell me who's DNA it is? You'll have a job for life in the field of science."

"Never," Rachel spat.

Abruptly another wave hit the boat, this time so hard that it sent Dr. Alder flying off Rachel. With a groan he got up. "Is this your doing?" he asked, staring at her.

Before Rachel could do anything, a fire burst to life next to the microscope, quickly spreading throughout the whole cabin. "We have to get out of here," Rachel said, covering her mouth. Already the smoke was thick and dark.

"Not without my research," Dr. Alder replied, trying to grab something.

Rachel grabbed his arm, pulling him back. No matter how much she hated him right now, she couldn't let him die. "Lets go," Rachel repeated and pulled him behind her. With the fire hot on their trail, they ran for the exit.

Just as the fire consumed the whole ship, they reached the dock. Dr. Alder sunk to the ground, staring at the flaming wreck. Already people were coming closer and cell phones were being whipped out. "My work," Dr. Alder stammered.

"This is your final warning," Rachel told him in a grave voice, "You try to research this again and you won't be as fortunate next time. If you know what's good for you, this was all just an accident. A lot worse can be done." Without waiting for a reply, Rachel turned on her heel and left, weaving through the crowd.

Rachel walked a bit, making sure that no one was following her, before she headed towards the beach. There she only had to wait a moment before four heads rose out of the water. "Are you alright?" Taylor asked, worried.

"I'm fine," Rachel answered, "Though you wouldn't need to worry, if Amber hadn't overdone it."

"I'm innocent. I didn't use my powers, let alone start the fire," Amber protested, "You honestly think I would take into account that you could be injured just so that I could get at that idiot?"

"It's true, Rachel. I rocked the boat a bit, but none of the others did anything," Sarah told her.

"But where did the fire come from?" Rachel asked, confused, though glad it hadn't been Amber.

"Maybe the rocking caused a short-circuit?" Emily suggested.

"Maybe," Rachel muttered, still not convinced. Taylor looked thoughtful, but said nothing.

"Do you think he'll leave us alone?" Sarah inquired.

"Only time will tell, but I feel confident that we aren't in anymore danger," Rachel replied and they smiled.

**A/N: **With one villain down, the girls dodged a serious bullet, leaving their bond stronger than ever. What could tear them apart? Perhaps a turmoil from inside? Please review.


	10. Downpour

**A/N: I got some big exams coming up, so I'm really glad I was able to upload. I hope my studying didn't interfere with my writing quality too much. Thank you to all my readers. Here is chapter 10. Enjoy! **

_Previously... Dr. Alder accidentally gotten his hands on Sarah's DNA and tried to force Rachel to tell him, who it's from. During the confrontation between the two, someone starts a fire, destroying everything. Meanwhile Taylor tells Rachel that she had James are together. Now on to the chapter.  
_

Chapter 10: Downpour

"I think it's about time we call it quits for today," Amber yawned, leaning back onto her hands as she looked at the clock in Emily's room, which read almost ten pm. The others nodded in agreement. They had been working on a project for school and homework almost all afternoon and into the night.

"I should definitely get going. My mom won't be pleased to have me wandering the streets so late at night," Rachel said as she packed her things. The other four waved after her as she left.

"I know I live only next door, but frankly I'm too tired to go home," Amber told them.

"Me too. That was way too much homework for my taste," Sarah agreed.

"Then why don't you just stay over?" Emily suggested as she got up and went to her closet. There neatly put away in a box she found Sarah's and Amber's sleepover things. After they had several inconveniences about forgotten stuff or not being able to have a spur of the moment sleepover, each girl had given the other two a stack of stuff that they would need, if they ever stayed over.

"Agreed," the two chorused.

"Then call your parents while Taylor and I get everything ready," Emily told them.

While Amber and Sarah got out their cell phones, Taylor and Emily went to Taylor's room where there were sleeping bags in the closet. Each took one and headed back. As they past James' door, Taylor stopped, her mind wandering to him. What was he up to right now? Wait for her? Since their relationship was still a secret, they often met at night in of their rooms. They talked, sometime kissed. Though it did have its risks. More than once someone had come in and one of them had to hide quickly. It wasn't ideal, but better than nothing. A small smile blossomed on her face.

Just then Emily's head poked out of her door and asked, "Everything alright?" Taylor quickly nodded and hurried to bring the sleeping bag. They talked a while as they set of the beds, but were forced to stop when Emily reminded them that it was a school day tomorrow and, if she didn't go to bed soon, they would be tired in the morning, so reluctantly the four split up to go to bed.

Taylor had just returned to her room and was about to undress, when a voice said, "I thought you would never finish." Startled she whirled around to see James getting up from behind her bed. Self consciously she held her arms in front of her chest, even though she was still clothed.

"What are you doing here?" Taylor asked, slowly starting to recover from her shock.

"What's it look like?" James replied as he sat down on her bed, "Waiting for you. It was a close call though. I was barely able to duck behind the bed when you and Emily came in."

Taylor shook her head as she let out a slow breath. "You're impossible," she muttered as she sank down onto the bed beside him. James took a hold of her face and drew her in for a kiss. "How good it felt," Taylor thought as they slung their arms around each other.

When they finally broke their kiss, they just snuggled together, talking. They talked about all sorts of things, though usually they somehow got onto the topic of mermaids, a subject James always seemed to have new questions on. "How did you ever survive in Ireland as a mermaid?" James asked, "I mean with all the rain and such?"

"Not sure myself," Taylor replied with a shrug.

"You think there are other mermaids beside you somewhere out there in the world?" James inquired.

"Yeah, there are. Your sister and her friends," Taylor wanted to say, but only thought it. "Who knows? I have yet to find another moon pool and back in Ireland it seemed I was the only…," Taylor began, but abruptly stopped. Suddenly she shoved James off the bed,

James was about to complain, when he heard the door open. "You're still awake?" a voice asked. His sister!

"Yeah," Taylor answered, looking around the room for a reason and then her gaze fell on her laptop, which rested on her desk, "I was chatting with my mom."

"I see. I saw that your light was still on and found it strange. You're usually one of the first to fall asleep," Emily told her, "That reminds me. I wanted to talk to you about the full moon that will be in a while."

Taylor froze. If this continued James would find out the truth about Emily. "Lets talk about it tomorrow. I'm pretty tired," Taylor suggested and more than rudely ushered Emily out of her room, "Good night." Before Emily could reply, Taylor had closed her door.

"Why does my sister want to talk about the full moon with you?" James asked, looking at her.

"Please, don't look at me like that," Taylor thought, guiltily as she tried to convince herself this was the right thing to do. "For a science project," Taylor answered, "You should go though. I really am tired." James nodded, seeming to accept the answer and gave Taylor one last kiss. After James had left, Taylor changed and went to bed.

As Taylor got up the next morning, she smiled. Another day full of sun. That was the best part of the Gold Coast, thought the girl, which had only a while ago only known the gloomy Irish weather. Her sixth sense, or possibly an attribute that mermaids got when they were often exposed to such rainy weather, hadn't once gone off since she had arrived in Australia, as opposed to the almost daily basis it went of in Ireland. It was a nice change of pace to not have to worry about the rain.

Still with a big smile on her face Taylor stepped to the window to gaze upon the sunrise over the ocean, a phenomenon, which she had noticed pretty quickly after taking up the room and had now become part of her daily routine. With great anticipation Taylor pulled aside the curtain, but instead of the expected glistening water, the foaming waves and the magically painted sky, there was the looming clouds, the almost pitch black ocean and an obvious patter, which she knew all to well. Rain. No, a downpour. The drops came down like threads, never once letting up.

Confused Taylor stared out at the scene in front of her. Was her sixth sense broken? Could it break? She wasn't feeling any rain. Slowly it dawned on her. This wasn't good. Taylor hurried out of her room and down the stair, where she heard muttering from. In the kitchen she found not only her three fellow mermaids, but also Emma. "Was this in the forecast?" Emily asked.

"There is no way we can go out there," Sarah said, leaning against the window.

"Not unless we want to turn into mermaids the second we step outside," Amber added.

"It's strange though. I don't think any rain was expected," Emma said.

Taylor used this moment to speak up, "There wasn't. This rain isn't natural. Something or someone is causing this. My sixth sense says it shouldn't be raining."

The four looked at her. "So you mean whoever saved Rachel from Dr. Alder is now making it rain?" Emily concluded.

"But why?" Sarah questioned.

"Keep us from going to school," Amber suggested, "Now all that homework was for nothing."

"Let me try my magic," Sarah said as she raised her hand towards the sky. The girls could see the tension in the brunette's face, but then gasp and told them with a shake of the head, "No chance. It won't budge."

Just then James came downstairs. "It sure is raining," he commented, "Shouldn't you get ready for school?"

"School? You want us to swim there?" Emily asked.

"Since when do you miss school due to any reason?" James replied, eying his sister, "I'll drive you, if that's the problem."

"I don't think that's a good idea, James. Some roads are already under water. It's too dangerous. They'll stay here," Emily objected, "We'll just have to wait out the storm." The five children nodded, solemnly.

Hours past, but no change in the weather seemed to be coming. The rain hadn't lessened, in fact it might have gotten stronger. Worried they watched the water rise. "If this keeps up, soon the ocean will come up to our house," Emily pointed out.

Suddenly there was a knock on the glass door, a figure dressed in a raincoat stood there. "Rachel," the girls muttered as Emma carefully opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" Taylor asked, "Are you crazy going out in that storm?"

"Why don't we first get her some towels to dry off," Emma suggested, seeing the girl was drenched from head to toe, even though she was wearing a rain jacket and carrying an umbrella. James went off to get the towels.

"I didn't have much off a choice. My house is in a small ditch and was starting to get flooded. My mom and I left. I wanted to know how you were, so I told her to go ahead," Rachel explained, careful to keep a safe distance from the mermaids.

Just then James came back and handed Rachel the towels, who tried to dry herself to the best of her abilities. "Why don't you and I go upstairs and get you dried up," Amber suggested and Rachel nodded, understanding what the blond meant. The two left.

"I wonder how bad it is out there?" Sarah muttered, staring out the window.

"I'm sure Rachel will tell us," Taylor replied.

A moment later Amber and Rachel, who was now completely dry, returned. James stared at them. How was it possible to dry that fast? Not to mention he hadn't heard a hairdryer running.

"How bad is it out there?" Emily asked as they settled on the sofa.

"Very bad. A lot of the streets are flooded and houses are threatening to sink. I took my boat here. If this continues, the whole, city will have to be evacuated," Rachel told them. Angrily Amber balled her fist, but careful not to use magic.

"Perhaps we should go look for higher ground," Emma suggested.

"No, we should be fine here," James replied, making everyone look up, surprised. Nervously Taylor bit her lip. Don't blow it, James.

"Can I talk to you in private?" Rachel asked, eying her mermaid friends, and the others nodded, moving into the kitchen, where she whispered, "This isn't natural, is it?" They all shook their heads. "We need to do something," Rachel told them, "Due to the rain a flash flood is starting to come. If this keeps up thousands could be in danger."

"Why would that person threaten all those humans, if it's after us?" Emily questioned.

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter. We are the only ones who can do anything," Rachel retorted.

"I agree with Rachel. Lets show that shadow what we can do," Amber agreed.

"What could you possibly do?" someone suddenly asked, making the girls turn in horror. In the doorway stood James. Taylor stared at the scene. This was not good.

"Nothing," Emily answered, quickly, "We were just being silly. Forget what you just heard."

"Didn't sound like it," James said, "What could you possible do… unless you're mermaids…" All three of the original mermaids stared at James, while Taylor wasn't sure what to do and Rachel felt like she had landed in the middle of a soap.

"How do you… know about mermaids?" Emily finally stammered.

"Is it true?" James repeated, firmly and then his gaze fell on his girlfriend, "Taylor?"

Now the girls stared at Taylor, who fidgeted uncomfortably. "What is he talking about Taylor?" Sarah asked.

"I'm so sorry, James," Taylor finally whispered, "But it wasn't my secret to tell."

"Well… That explains…," James stammered, speechless as he slowly sank into a chair, overwhelmed at the fact that his sister was now suddenly a mermaid, "A lot."

"What is going on here?" Amber demanded to know.

"James saw me when I saved him and confronted me about it," Taylor explained, her head low, "I told him the truth, but I didn't tell him you were also mermaids."

There was an awkward silence. "Lets talk about this later. Right now we have to save everyone," Emily said and Taylor smiled gratefully.

"Let me help," Rachel told them.

"No way. It's too dangerous for you," Amber retorted, "Not to mention you won't be able to fight the current."

"Please, Rachel, find higher ground with out parents and watch that nothing happens to them. I, no, we all would feel better, knowing our families are save," Sarah begged, thinking of Cleo, who was highly pregnant.

"Okay," Rachel gave in and stepped back.

"Lets go," Emily said.

"You are not going!" James ordered them, jumping up from his chair and grabbing his sister's wrist, "It's far too dangerous."

"We can handle ourselves," Emily retorted, staring back at him, "We have faced worse than this."

"Still. You should not have to do this alone," James objected.

"James, please. We know what we're doing and I promise we'll all come back safe and sound," Taylor told him, making him look at her. James clenched his fist and looked to the side vanquished. In silence the four mermaids stepped to the door. In one clean motion Emily threw open the door and they sprinted into the rain, mentally counting the seconds until their transformation. In the last second they dove into the water, their tails visible as they went under.

James stared out at the spot where they had disappeared. "Let the girls be, James," Emma said, coming up to him and resting a hand on his shoulder, "They know what they're doing."

"Mom," he muttered, looking at her as it dawned on him, "You knew?"

"A long story. I'll tell you more while we go to higher ground," Emma replied, "For now you should know that those girls already saved the world twice."

"And my life," Rachel added, stepping beside them. For a moment they stared out at the rising water, thinking of the girls, before they hurried to the boat, Rachel had brought with her, collect the others and then find higher ground.

Meanwhile four mermaids were now on a main street, which during normal days was almost never empty, but now not a soul dared cross it. The water had risen so high that the mermaids could easily swim over the street. "I know we told James we would stop this, but how?" Amber asked, letting some rain fall into her extended hand, "I mean Sarah wasn't able to do anything and what are we supposed to do against all this water?"

"There must be a place where it has a weakness," Taylor said.

"If so, I don't feel it," Sarah replied, being the most magically aware.

"But there has to be something like the center of the storm. Even a magically induced one has to have one. A place where it all comes from," Emily objected.

"Well, there is a spot where there is slightly more magic than the rest of the Gold Coast," Sarah pointed out, "Follow me."

The three followed Sarah out into the ocean. When they stopped, they noticed it wasn't raining as hard. "So where is our bad guy?" Amber asked, looking around.

"Try stopping it here," Taylor suggested.

"I still wouldn't be able to do it. It's too strong. I would need a lot more magic," Sarah objected.

"Take ours," Emily said, "We can't disappoint the others."

"Would that work?" Amber questioned.

"Why not? We all have our powers from a moon pool, so it can't be too different. Plus we have merged out powers before, just outside of our bodies," Taylor pointed out.

"Lets give it a try," Sarah agreed.

The others nodded and all three placed their hands on Sarah's back. She closed her eyes and could feel her friends', not just physically, but mentally. Their bodies felt like vessels for their magic and their arms the connection to her. Although Sarah didn't know who stood where behind her, she just knew. Their magic defined them. Amber's fiery hot red magic, Emily's cool white magic, Taylor's elastic blue magic and her own almost fluid purple magic. Sarah could feel their magic streaming from her friends into herself, as though they were becoming one.

Slowly Sarah raised her hand towards the sky and activated her power. She could feel their magic colliding, the rain sometimes lessening, sometimes getting stronger. "I won't let you, whoever you maybe, hurt my friends, my family or anyone on the Gold Coast. No one!" Sarah thought with those last words send out a powerful serge of magic. It almost sounded like a flash of lightning when the two powers met, but instantly Sarah knew they had won as the rain stopped and the clouds burst apart, sending a ray of sun to shine down on them. She felt her friends' retreating and quickly said, "Keep them there a moment longer. I need to fix this." When the hands stayed on her back, Sarah used one swift motion to push all the clouds away and to slowly, so that nothing more would be damaged, pull the excessive water from the city. The masses of it, which she pulled out, amazed her.

As Sarah drained the last of the water, she sighed, "It's over."

Suddenly she felt three pairs of arms hug her. "Good job," her friends smiled.

"That felt really weird," Amber said.

"What did you expect?" Emily asked.

"I don't know, but it almost felt like I understood you better than ever," Sarah answered and the others nodded.

"So what now?" Taylor questioned.

"The city will probably still be in alert mode, so maybe it would be better, if we laid low and went to the moon pool," Emily suggested, "At least for a while and it would give us time to talk." The others nodded.

So once they had arrived at the moon pool, Taylor retold of how James had found out, of course omitting the fact that they were together and that Rachel had known anything, since she didn't want her to get in trouble. Luckily no one seemed to be mad at her for not telling them and were almost happy that Taylor had tried to keep their secret, even though she had been busted. They had only been there for a bit when they suddenly heard people entering the moon pool.

The mermaids were about to dive under when Rachel appeared in the entrance followed by James. "Told you they would be here. If they didn't return home, they're here," Rachel said and gave her friends a thumbs up, "Great job, you guys. All the water is gone. Now only some repairs will be necessary."

Meanwhile James just stared at his sister and the three other mermaids. "This is really happening," he muttered in disbelieve.

"How much does he know?" Emily asked, motioning towards her brother.

"Your mom told him everything," Rachel answered.

"Then he knows he only barely escaped getting a mermaid, sorry, merman tail," Amber grinned.

"Don't remind me," James groaned, "I mean it looks good on you, but I don't think it's for me."

"Aw, I think you wouldn't look bad with a tail," Sarah smirked.

"Come on, we'll show you what you missed out on," Rachel told him, jumped into the water and dove away. Emily, Sarah and Amber followed suite.

Taylor was about to follow as well, when James grabbed her arm. "So this was your secret?" he asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't my secret to tell," Taylor repeated, "If Emily didn't want to say anything, then I can't go behind her back."

"And what about us?" he questioned, "Are we going to tell them?"

"I think one surprise is enough for one day. I still don't think it's a good idea to tell Emily," Taylor admitted.

Before James could say anything, Emily resurfaced. "Come on, you two lazybones. The water feels great," she smiled, splashing it at them. With a laugh Taylor pulled James into the water and after her into the wide ocean.

**A/N: **The girls were able to not only overcome the downpour, but also the fact that James now knows of their secret. However they also realized that whoever is after them is not afraid to hurt innocent people in the process. What happens when it strikes closer to home? Please review.


	11. New Way

**A/N: My exams are over and I did the best I could. Can't ask more from myself, right? Anyway I now have vacation and hope to catch up on stuff that I had little time for in the last month or so, including writing, of course. So I might be able to update soon than usual. Anyway thanks for reading. Here is chapter 11. Enjoy!**

_Italics stand for flashback._

_Previously... James was getting closer to figuring out the truth about his sister when a mysterious downpour strikes the Gold Coast. Overhearing a conversation he confronts them and the girls confess. The girls then stop the downpour, which luckily no one was hurt by. Still Taylor and James keep their love a secret however. Now on to the chapter._

Chapter 11: New Way

"I'm sick and tired of this!" Amber yelled, jumping up from her chair at the counter in Sarah's house.

"I know how you feel, but I don't think this is a good idea," Emily retorted, calmly looking at her friend.

"Do you? If you did, then you would want to do this too," Amber objected.

"We do understand you, but isn't what you're suggesting risky?" Taylor pointed out.

"We have to think of the consequences," Rachel added.

"Think about it Amber. If we go and hunt down what or whoever is after us, then won't we be playing right into their cards," Sarah told her, "Plus we would be endangering all our families, if we enrage them."

"But we can beat it. We saw that. In the direct battle during the downpour we won," Amber pointed out.

"Well, theoretically yes, but practically you have to also calculate in that the person had been using their power for some time since then, thus making him stronger than us," Emily protested.

Amber sighed and took a few steps away from her friends before turning around and asking, "So we should wait until the person really does drown the whole Gold Coast or kill us? I'm sick and tired of always running away and just reacting. What if we took the offensive? What if we did something completely out of character? We could take that thing by surprise and use that to our advantage."

The four girls stared at their friend for a moment when Cleo entered the kitchen, shopping bags in hand. Instantly Sarah jumped up and took the bags from her. "Mom, you know you're supposed to be taking it easy," Sarah said.

"Don't you start treating me like I'm about to break in two any second too," Cleo replied, resting a hand on her round stomach, "Lewis, fussing over me is more than enough. If it were up to him, he would probably chain me to the bed until the baby is here."

In silent agreement the mermaids got the rest of the groceries. As the girls unpacked and stored the groceries, Rachel asked, "So when is the baby do?"

"In a bit more than a week," Cleo answered.

"And you really have no idea what it will be?" Taylor questioned, "I would die of curiosity."

"No idea. Lewis and mom want it to be a surprise," Sarah smiled.

"Though by the way the baby is moving so much I would guess a boy," Cleo replied, rubbing her stomach.

"Or an energetic girl," Amber added.

"It would be interesting to say the least," Emily pointed out, "If she would be able to turn into a mermaid."

"I think getting born into this family is whacky enough, but becoming a mermaid too might be a bit much," Sarah objected, "Not to mention theoretically mom doesn't have the mermaid genes anymore, I do

"Either way I will love him or her," Cleo smiled, "But I couldn't help overhearing what you were discussing. You want to lure the person out, who is attacking you?"

"Amber wants to," Emily retorted, eying her friend.

"What do you think, mom?" Sarah asked.

"Well, back in the day I wasn't known for taking risks, but I have to say maybe it's worth a shot. We never really tried to turn the table on our pursuers back then. It would interest me to know what happens. Maybe, like Amber said you could finally end this," Cleo told them. The girls stared at the former mermaid, not having expected this answer. "But you should still be careful," Cleo warned them, "I would even help, if you…"

"Thanks, but no, mom," Sarah interrupted, "Lewis would have my head, if I let you help us."

"This is what I have to put up with," Cleo complained, "Fine, I'll condemn myself to beach walks and staying at home. Speaking of which, I think I'll go for one right now."

"You go on walks often?" Emily questioned.

"Yes. There is not much else to do and the baby seems to enjoy hearing the ocean," Cleo answered, "Can I give you one last piece of advice? If you are going to use the trap, do it soon. The full moon is upon us in a few days." With that she left. The girls waited for a moment as they listened to Cleo leaving and then turned to one another.

"She's right. If we're going to lure it in, it should be soon, tomorrow even. So how do we lure whoever is following us out?" Emily asked, looking at her friends.

* * *

"Come on," Rachel said as she stepped into the cave, turning around. Alex followed her with a picnic basket in hand.

"I didn't think you were serious when you suggested having a picnic at Mako. It seems like a weird spot," he told her as he looked around, "Then again it is pretty nice. Quiet and relaxing."

"I told you this is the perfect spot for a picnic," Rachel replied as she and Alex spread out a blanket, "Okay, in truth I got the tip from Sarah's mom. She and Lewis used to come here all the time back in the day."

"I heard she was pregnant. How is she doing?" Alex asked.

"Good, except for the part where Lewis and Sarah are fussing over everything she does," Rachel smiled.

"And how are you doing? Especially with that new girl from Ireland? Taylor, was it?" Alex inquired.

"I'm fine. I've gotten used to using the necklace for magic. I have to admit I was jealous of Taylor in the beginning, but now we've become pretty good friends actually," Rachel answered, "But enough about me. What about you? How have you been?"

"You know the usual. Keeping up with school, missing you every second, wishing that we could see each other more often," he said as he leaned in closer. Just as they were about to kiss, the sand suddenly began to whirl, creating a twister around them. "What's going on?" Alex asked, trying to make his voice heard above the wind.

"I don't know," Rachel replied as she leaned against Alex for protection. With a smile Rachel thought back.

_"She's right. If we're going to lure it in, it should be soon, tomorrow even. So how do we lure whoever is following us out?" Emily asked, looking at her friends. _

_"Walk around town until he, she or it attacks us?" Sarah proposed. _

_"Well, we know whoever is after us has something to do with mermaids. What if we used the one place that is sacred to all mermaid related people?" Amber suggested._

_ "The moon pool," Taylor said and the others nodded. _

_"But there is no way that the person will come out, if we all go to the moon pool," Rachel objected. _

_"We're not all going," Amber replied. _

_"Wait. You want one of us to play the scapegoat? That's way too dangerous," Sarah objected. _

_"Not if we plan it right. Obviously only the person will think that one of us is alone. We'll have secretly taken up positions around the moon pool, ready to capture whoever tries to go after our bait," Amber explained. _

_"You're serious about this," Emily realized._

_ "Of course. After what happened I don't want to see people die. I already nearly did kill someone. It's not a pleasant feeling," Amber replied as she shuddered at the memory of the boy in the hospital._

_"How come you always borrow my homework, if you come up with such elaborate plans?" Emily asked, trying to ease the seriousness and the gloom that was overcoming Amber._

_Amber smiled at her friend, "Because if I did my homework, I wouldn't be that smart. You have to be that smart to have other people do your homework and to only think about the stuff that's important." The two smiled at each other._

"_So who's going to be the bait?" Taylor asked, trying to get them back on track. _

_"I'll do it. They must be angry at me for ruining their plan of sinking the Gold Coast. If anyone can get them out of hiding, it's me," Sarah volunteered__, raising her hand slightly as though she was trying to be picked by a teacher__. Amber, Emily and Taylor nodded at the logic of their friend. _

_"No, it should be me," Rachel objected. _

_"Why do you say that?" Amber questioned, looking at her. _

_"No way, you can't defend yourself efficiently against what we're up," Emily protested. _

_"Listen to me," Rachel began, a pleading look in her eyes, "If Sarah, any of you for that matter, are the bait, that's one less person to corner them with. There is little I can do to stop them as you said yourself." The four mermaids couldn't help but agree with that argument. "Plus," Rachel continued, "They'll be less suspicious of me. Like you said yourself I'm an easy target and wouldn't be able to defend myself properly. There is no way he would see a trap in it."_

_For a moment the girls were silent, debating with themselves their course of action. Finally Emily spoke, "Okay, you'll be the bait, but don't take any unnecessary risks. You're alone there." _

_"Who said I would go alone?" Rachel smiled as the others stared at her confused, "Alex is coming to visit tomorrow. I'm sure he'll gladly help us." _

_"You sure he'll agree to it?" Taylor inquired, surprised. _

_"Positive. He'll do anything to help us," Rachel answered__, __"__I'll pick him up and then our trap is perfect.__"_

Though the sandstorm Rachel eyed the water, scanning every inch for their attacker. Then she saw it. A dark shadow just below the entrance to the moon pool. "There it is!" Rachel exclaimed, pointing to the shadow. Out from the entrance of the cave sprang Emily and Amber and dove into the pool. Almost instantly the twisted stopped and the shadow vanished into the underwater cavern. Rachel and Alex scrambled to the opening, trying to see something of what was going on below.

Underwater the way to the ocean was dark and it was had to see anything. Amber and Emily looked around, trying to find the figure. Just then Sarah and Taylor swam up to them. With a shrug and a shaking of the head, they signaled that no one had passed them. Their prey was still here. Carefully they let themselves sink towards the ground, the only hiding spot in the area. Suddenly a tentacle shot from the darkness below, barely missing Amber. Knowing the general direction of the figure, the girls sank lower in a faster pace.

* * *

"Can you see anything?" Rachel asked, leaning over the edge of the moon pool.

"No more than you," Alex answered.

"Wait, something is coming," Rachel said and a split second later the tentacle broke the surface. Before either of them could react, the tentacle wrapped itself around Rachel's arm and pulled her under.

"Rachel!" Alex exclaimed, but could do nothing more than watch as his girlfriend was pulled under.

Startled all four mermaids saw as Rachel was pulled under. Struggling against her restraint and to get to the surface, she hit the tentacle, but it didn't effect it.

The figure took their moment of distraction to flee, making the tentacle follow with Rachel, who had to be careful that she didn't hit her head in the process. The four mermaids followed quickly. Out in the ocean the figure picked up speed and zoomed away, while the tentacle pulled Rachel further under. She had given up her struggle and now pressed her hands against her mouth.

Conflicted the four mermaids weren't sure what to do. Get their attacker or save Rachel. With a nod the two groups from earlier split up again. While Amber and Emily raced after the figure, who was only a dark spot in the horizon, Sarah and Taylor followed Rachel. Meanwhile Rachel could feel her breath getting short. She pressed her hands against her mouth as though it might keep the air inside of her. Her vision was slowly filling with spots, but she could see Sarah and Taylor coming towards her. Don't save me. Go after the figure, she wanted to say, but couldn't.

Sarah activated her magic to try and unravel the tentacle, but the magic didn't work as the tentacle kept pulling Rachel further and further down. Taylor saw that Rachel couldn't hold on much longer and activated her power. With all the power that she had Taylor solidified the tentacle and a split second later it burst apart. Quickly Sarah grabbed Rachel and the three hurried to the surface.

As they broke the surface Rachel coughed and spat out water. "Thanks," she muttered in between coughs.

"Lets get you to shore," Sarah suggested as they pulled her to the mainland. Back on land Rachel dropped onto the sand, exhausted.

A moment later Amber and Emily surfaced as well. After Amber had dried them all off, she said, "We lost him."

"I'm sorry," Rachel replied, looking to the side.

"You have nothing to feel sorry for," Taylor objected.

"I should be the one to apologize. I nearly got you killed with my idea," Amber added.

"Watch out!" a voice suddenly exclaimed and they were able to roll to the side in time to avoid a tentacle coming down towards her. Startled the girls looked to the side to see Cleo.

"Mom!" Sarah yelled, "Get out of here! It's too dangerous!" As though the tentacle understood them, it gave up on attacking them and shot towards Cleo. The girls were helpless as they watched the pregnant woman stagger backwards in vain. Just as the tentacle reached Cleo, she dropped to the ground so that the tentacle just missed her. To the girls surprised instead of attack again, the tentacle disappeared.

Sarah waited for her mother to get up, but she didn't she worried. "Mom," she said, walking towards her, "Mom!" The five girls hurried towards Cleo. "Are you alright?" Sarah asked as she arrived next to her mother, who was still hunched over on the ground.

"My water broke," was all that Cleo could manage to say.

"Your water broke…," Sarah repeated and then it slowly sank in, "Wait, doesn't that mean… Oh my god. Okay, you do your breathing, mom… and Emily…"

"I'm calling the ambulance right now," Emily interrupted, her phone already at her ear.

"And you need to take a deep breath and calm down," Rachel said, hooking herself into Sarah's one arm to keep her from hurrying around.

"Your mom will be just fine," Taylor added and did the same on Sarah's other side, "You should call Lewis so that he's at the hospital when she arrives."

Sarah nodded as she pulled out her phone and dialed Lewis' number. "Lewis, it's Sarah," she said when he picked up.

"Sarah, what's up?" Lewis asked.

"Well, mom sort of went into labor just…," Sarah began, but Lewis interrupted, frantically, "Is she alright? How is she doing?"

"Calm down, Lewis. Meet us at the hospital. We already called the ambulance," Sarah replied and hung up.

In the distance they could hear the sirens and a moment later the ambulance arrived. Sarah glanced to her friends. "Is it alright if I go with my mom?" she asked her friends

"Go. I called my mom. She and Emma will be here soon and take us to the hospital," Amber answered, "We'll be right behind you." With a smile the four other mermaids assured their friend as she got into the ambulance along with her mom.

Only a short while later Emma and Rikki arrived each in their car and waved for the girls to come, who hurried towards them. "Rachel, everything alright?" Alex asked as he jumped from the boat that had brought them to Mako in the first place.

Rachel turned around startled. She had completely forgotten about Alex. "I'm fine," Rachel answered, "But listen I have to…"

"It's alright. Go, I'll find the way back to the station on my own, but you owe me big time," Alex interrupted.

"Got it," Rachel smiled and gave him one last kiss before she followed the others to the cars, "Thanks, Alex."

With a speed, which was close to the limit and made the girls fear for their life, they quickly arrived at the hospital, where they found Sarah waiting alone. "Lewis is already inside," she greeted them.

"Then we'd better wait here," Emma suggested as she took a seat and Rikki followed suite. "Right," Rikki agreed, "No use in all piling into the room."

The time didn't want to pass as the large group sat in the hallway, waiting for a sign. As though they were taking turns, the younger girls found themselves each pacing back and forth at one point or another. Finally the door opened and a doctor came out. "And?" Sarah asked, hurrying up to him.

"Why don't you go see for yourself," he answered, but smiled at the same time. The group rushed into the small room.

Laying on a bed, slightly exhausted, was Cleo and in her arm a bundle of blue cloth. Lewis stood beside her. Cleo smiled as her friends and family entered. Sarah stopped at the foot of the bed, but was pushed forward by her friends. Carefully she looked down at the little person in her mother's arms. A sense of joy and pride filled Sarah. "Say hello to Ethan," Cleo said, shifting the baby a little closer to Sarah.

"Hey Ethan," Sarah smiled as she extended her finger, which he immediately grasped, "My name is Sarah. I'm your big sister."

"He's completely healthy," Cleo told everyone.

"Then there is nothing standing in his way to become a merman," Rikki smiled.

"Please no. There should be at least one more normal person to balance out all this craziness," Lewis replied.

"I think you'll need more than one person to accomplish that with our daughters as they are now," Emma retorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amber asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"You really have to ask with the stunt that we pulled today?" Emily answered.

"It nearly worked," Rachel objected with a smile and added jokingly, "It would have, if I was a real mermaid and not some sort of enhanced human."

"You did your best," Taylor replied, "Besides you're not the only wear one. I'm the only mermaid from Ireland."

"Welcome in the crazy world of mermaids, little brother," Sarah smiled and the others couldn't help but laugh as Sarah made a tentacle of water sliver in front of Ethan, which he tried to grasp, "Welcome to the crazy world."

**A/N: **Cleo and Lewis' child is born without too many complications and the girls plan of action failed. Now however the full moon is sneaking up on them. Will it be the revenge of their attacker or problems amongst themselves that will bring them trouble? Please review.


	12. Explosive

**A/N: Vacation was awesome, but as always way too short. How is it possible that school is back on already? Okay, enough of my complaining, I have to live with it either way and complaining about it to you won't change anything. Anyway, back on track, thanks to everyone who reads my story. ****My birthday is this month and as a present from me to you**** here is chapter 12. Enjoy!**

_Previously... Amber is tired of simply running from their hunter and is able to convince the others to hunt their hunter. However it backfires when Cleo arrives and is pulled into the drama. Her baby comes and Ethan is born. Now on to the chapter. _

Chapter 12: Explosive

Sarah stifled a yawn as she walked home from school along with her friends. Her friends looked at her as Amber asked, "You alright, Sarah? You look really bad."

"Thanks for the compliment," Sarah answered, dryly as she rubbed her eyes, which had bags underneath them, "I love Ethan and all, but waking up in the middle of the night every night because of his screaming isn't easy."

"If you would have said something, you could have stayed with us, any of us I'm sure for that matter," Emily pointed out as the rest nodded.

Sarah however shook her head, replying, "It's unfair to leave mom and Lewis to do it all themselves. Not to mention what kind of big sister would I be, if I just left when things got tough."

"You might get some sleep tonight," Taylor told her, "Remember the full moon is upon us."

"Right. Whose house are we staying at tonight?" Rachel asked, looking around the group. Although neither she nor Taylor needed to worry about the full moon, they had decided, out of solidarity, to join the three mermaids.

"My house," Emily replied, "Don't worry. Everything is ready. The good thing that came along with James knowing I'm a mermaid. No more hiding from him during the full moon or locking myself up without an explanation."

"I can imagine," Sarah smiled, "Finally I'll be able to get some sleep."

"No that would mean no fun for us," Amber complained, jokingly.

"I'll see you later then. The usual time?" Rachel questioned as she turned towards her home and the others nodded. The usual time being one hour before the rising of the full moon. With that the group dispersed, making preparations for the night.

Later that day Taylor listened from the comforts of her room to the sounds in the hall. Nothing. Emily's parents were both out of the house so that they had it for themselves during the full moon and Emily was preparing for the full moon. Seeing it posed no threat to her, Taylor had nothing really to prepare for. Carefully she opened the door and snuck down the hall. With a knock Taylor entered James' room. James, who stood in front of his wall covered in photos, looked up and a smile spread across his face. "I'm not interrupting anything, I hope," she said, stepping up towards him.

Instead of a reply his arms wrapped around her and he gave her a kiss and only then did James reply, "You're never interrupting." He held up a hand full of photos. "I'm in the middle of updating my wall," he explained, "I just can't decide which should be hung up and which should be taken down."

Taylor looked at the pictures in his hand and answered, "I think they're all great."

"I would much rather put up a picture of you as a mermaid," James whispered into her ear.

"No way. First of all you don't have one. Second of what if one of your friends sees it?" Taylor retorted.

"I'll say it's cosplay or something," James suggested, "Or at least I want to put up this picture." He held up a picture, which she recognized instantly. It was the picture of her at the airport. The first time they had met.

"Are you crazy? If you put that up, Emily will know something is up," Taylor told him, "She'll clearly be able to tell this is the airport."

"You're no fun at all," James murmured, his arms still around her.

Just then there was a knock on the door and Emily came in. The two were barely able to separate in time before Emily saw them. "There you are, Taylor. I was looking everywhere for you," Emily said as she stepped up to them, "What are you doing here?"

The two froze for a moment before Taylor answered, "Pictures. James asked me for my opinion of what picture he should put up."

"Really? He never asked me that," Emily told her, obviously a bit hurt.

"It's just that Taylor wanted to see them and I was in a pinch, cause I couldn't decide between two," James lied.

"I see," Emily whispered.

"So what did you want from me?" Taylor asked, trying to get the blonde's mind off it.

"Right," Emily said, remembering the real reason she was even here, "Come with me." Emily took Taylor's hand and led her out of the room, so that she could simply wave good bye to James, who only smiled after her. Taylor was pulled downstairs and into the kitchen.

There on the table stood a small cake with a candle burning on top of it and surrounding the table was Amber, Sarah and Rachel. "What is going on here?" Taylor asked as Emily walked over to the rest.

"Surprise!" the four girls exclaimed.

"Haven't you realized? It's been exactly one month since you came here," Rachel told her.

"You arrived on the day of the full moon," Sarah added.

"I can't believe you remember," Taylor said, "I didn't even remember."

"Well, to be perfectly honest, we didn't either," Amber replied, "Actually it was James who reminded us." She motioned towards the entrance.

"You're welcome," James said as he stepped into the kitchen.

It took all of Taylor's restraint not to hug him. "Thanks," Taylor smiled.

"So why don't we close the rest of the curtains and enjoy this cake," Emily suggested and the rest nodded. After they had sealed up the house, so that no light had a chance of getting in from the outside they sat down at the table, the only light being from the candle.

"This kind of feels like a date," Sarah said as she ate her slice of cake.

"It would be the weirdest date I've ever been on," Amber muttered between bites. Taylor and James sat next to each other. Taylor glanced over to him, wanting to hold his hand, but that was impossible.

Emily looked at her watching and reported, "The full moon is up now. As of now no one leaves the house." The others nodded.

"I guess we finish up here and head to bed," Rachel suggested.

"You won't find me complaining," Sarah yawned as she got up, collecting the plates along the way to the dishwasher.

"Let me help," Taylor volunteered and hurried to help Sarah put them in.

Suddenly there was a gurgling sound coming from the faucet. The six teens stared at it and a second later the faucet exploded to reveal a tentacle. The tentacle lunged for Sarah and Taylor, seeing they were closest to it. "Watch out!" Taylor exclaimed as she pushed Sarah out of the way, only to be caught full on by the tentacle and flung across the room. With a crash she landed in the debris of the former sink. The tentacle seemed to freeze as Taylor slowly got to her knees before it suddenly disappeared.

The five stood there for a moment, frozen to their spots, before hurrying to Taylor's side, James making sure to have a safe distance between them, so that he would not accidentally do something that would reveal their relationship. "Are you alright?" Emily asked, crouching down beside her.

"I'm fine, I think," Taylor answered, rubbing her head as she transformed into a mermaid, "Nothing major."

"Thank god," Sarah whispered, "Thanks for saving me."

"Your arm!" Rachel suddenly exclaimed as she saw red drops fall to the ground. Blood. Indeed a long, nasty looking cut ran down Taylor's arm, where a piece of the faucet must have scratched her.

"We have to get that bandaged," James said, "Amber, dry her off." Amber was already on it, her fist balled towards Taylor's direction.

"I'll…," Emily began, but James interrupted, "I'll bandage her. You guys need to stay down here in case something happens." Emily thought for a moment and then nodded. "Can you stand?" James asked as Taylor regained her legs. Taylor nodded as she slowly got up and was then led off.

Upstairs in the bathroom James opened a cabinet and pulled out bandages. "It doesn't look that bad," he assured her as he placed gauze on the wound and then started wrapping it. In silence they just sat there for a moment. "Why did you save Sarah?" James finally asked.

"I don't know. It was a reflex," Taylor shrugged.

"Honestly...," James sighed as he finished tying the bandage, "I'm just glad you're alright." Then he kissed her, drawing her in.

"Oh my god," a whisper interrupted them. Startled they turned around to see Emily in the doorway.

"Emily, it's not what it looks like," Taylor said, getting up from her spot on the bathtub's edge.

"Really? So you were not just kissing my brother!" Emily yelled, making Taylor flinch, "How long?" The two remained silent. "How long?!" Emily demanded to know.

"We fell in love on the day that I arrived," Taylor admitted, weakly.

"I don't believe it. So you didn't just lie to me about James not knowing about your power, but that you're together," Emily concluded, angrily, "What else did you lie to me about?"

"Emily, I'm so…," Taylor began, but Emily interrupted, "Really? Cause it didn't look like you had any guilty conscious while you were kissing him." Taylor stared at the enraged Emily for a moment and then stormed past her, running downstairs.

James watched her and then walked past his sister. "Good job," he muttered sourly as he went into his room.

Sarah, Amber and Rachel, who had busied themselves by picking up the pieces of the faucet, looked up when Taylor stormed downstairs. "Taylor, are you alri…," Sarah began, but stopped when she saw Taylor hurry to the door, pull it open and leave.

"Taylor?" Amber asked, but the door was slammed shut.

"Oh no," Rachel muttered, realizing what had happened. The three just stood there, unsure of what to do.

A moment later Emily came down the stairs. "I don't believe it," Emily muttered, still angry.

"What happened?" Sarah asked, "Why did Taylor run away?"

"She is going out with James," Emily answered.

"What?" Amber questioned, astonished, "You're joking right?"

"She's been going out with James pretty much ever since she got here!" Emily yelled, "I can't believe her! She lied to me, to us, the whole time! She knows I hate lying. I want nothing to do with her anymore!"

"This is exactly why she didn't tell you," Rachel snapped, speaking up for the first time. Instantly the three mermaids' heads shot up to look at her.

"You knew?" Emily questioned, jumping towards Rachel.

"I found out by accident a while ago," Rachel answered, keeping her ground.

"How could you not tell me?" Emily inquired.

"You have to ask when you act like this? It wasn't my secret to tell," Rachel retorted, quoting her friend, "Taylor was scared that exactly this would happen, if she told you. She didn't want to put your friendship on the line. I'm going to go look for her. It's still dangerous out there. I would tell you to do the same, but you're stuck inside. I hope you use the time to think things through." With that Rachel turned on her heel and left.

Emily stared after her. "Do you think I overreacted?" she finally asked, softly as she slid down onto a chair.

"I think you might have been a bit too hard on her," Sarah rephrased it.

"I think Taylor should have to you either way," Amber objected. Emily looked from one of her friends to the other. It kind of felt like a devil and an angel that sat on her shoulder, whispering into her ear. With a sigh she rested her head in her hands.

"Taylor never had the intention of deceiving you," James said, suddenly appearing before her, "We first met by accident at the airport when she first arrived. We hit it off. When we found out who the other person really was Taylor wanted to break it off. She didn't want to risk your friendship." Emily looked at him as he told the story, her expression unreadable. "It was me who kept trying to get together with her," James continued, "Emily, I love her." With that he handed her the picture of Taylor that he had taken at the airport. Emily stared at it and then at him.

"You really love her?" she finally asked.

"More than I ever loved anyone else. I don't want anything to happen to her," James answered.

With a sigh Emily got up. "Then I can't get in your way," Emily smiled as she handed back the photograph and then turned to her friends, "Lets find her. I have someone to apologize to."

"I'll come with you," James volunteered.

"No, you can't," Emily objected as they walked to the door, "You have to stay here in case she comes back."

"But what about the full moon?" James protested.

"Taylor is more important than that. The full moon should be right overhead. If we keep our heads low, we won't have a problem," Emily retorted as she pulled her hood over her head, the other two following suit. With a wave the three left.

Outside Emily pulled her phone from her jacket and dialed Rachel's number. When she picked up, Emily asked, "Rachel, have you found Taylor yet?"

"So you got over your tantrum?" Rachel smiled, "No, sadly I haven't. Are you outside?"

"Yeah, just by my house, but I doubt we'll be of much use. We're like blind mice," Emily replied, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground.

"Get back inside. I have an idea where she might be. I promise I'll bring her to you," Rachel told them.

"No, I wan…," Emily began, but suddenly only heard a scream and a moment later the line was dead.

"Emily? Emily!" Rachel exclaimed, but there was no reply, "Damn it." She picked up speed, now sprinting to the spot where, hopefully, she would find Taylor.

* * *

Meanwhile Taylor had ended up on the beach, just staring out at the dark ocean. Thousands of stars shown down on her, but it didn't interest her today. The words that Emily had said still echoed in her head. Maybe she should have told her earlier, but would the reaction have been different? Taylor could only guess. It hurt being accused of lying to her so many times, but it hurt even more knowing that it was true. How she wished she could just come clean. Wouldn't that however cause even more hatred towards her?

Feeling watched, Taylor's head shot up. Something was out in the ocean. Squinting her eyes, she tried to figure out what it was. "Taylor!" a voice exclaimed, making her look away. It was Rachel. "So you were here," the brunette said out of breath.

"How did you find me?" Taylor asked, surprised.

"I know you," Rachel smiled, but then it quickly disappeared, "We have to hurry. Something has happened to the others."

"What?!" Taylor exclaimed as she jumped up. No matter how hurt she felt by Emily, how mad she might be at her, Taylor could not and would not allow a friend to get hurt. She hurried after Rachel, looking over her shoulder to the ocean one last time, but nothing was there.

Nearing Emily's house the two girls could see a small dome of water being continuously being assaulted by a tentacle. Inside the dome Emily, Amber and Sarah cowered, the strain of keeping the shield up was clearly taking a toll on Sarah. Rachel and Taylor could tell that the shield wouldn't last much longer. "Hey!" Taylor yelled, "Pick on someone your own size!" Instantly it let off on its attack and turned to her. In unison the two raised their hands and activated their power, ice and solidifying respectively. Slowly the tentacle was being iced over, turning hard.

Suddenly it shook itself, blasting all the frozen bits off, and then disappeared. They just stood there for a moment and then hurried to the three mermaids. "Are you alright?" they asked as an exhausted Sarah dropped the shield.

"We're fine," Amber replied, "Lets get inside first." Building a human chain the two led the rest to Emily's house.

Inside they sank to the ground. Finally Emily looked at Taylor and asked, "Why?"

"I couldn't let you get hurt," Taylor answered.

"But all that stuff I said to you," Emily objected.

"You were upset. I understand," Taylor retorted, "I know it wasn't right of me to lie to you, but what else should I have done?"

"I honestly don't know," Emily whispered, "I'm sorry for everything I said."

"Sorry? What should you be sorry for? You went outside during a full moon to find me, if that doesn't prove something what does?" Taylor retorted, "It should be me apologizing. If I hadn't run away, you wouldn't have gotten into such danger."

"Okay, how about you agree that you're both sorry," Amber butted in, tired of the sorry festival.

"Anyway if my brother loves you and you love my brother then go ahead. I can't stand between you," Emily told Taylor with a smile.

Taylor stared at Emily. She hadn't expected that. "Really?" she asked, stammering a bit. Emily nodded.

Just then James appeared in the hall. "Thank god you're alright," he said.

Taylor looked from Emily to James and then suddenly jumped up and kissed him. "Okay, that I don't need to see," Emily interrupted them and everyone burst out laughing. Taylor smiled up at James in his arms.

**A/N:** Now all the secrets are out. No more hidden lovers or untold powers. We could end the story here, if it wasn't for their attack still on the loose. Will their hunter make a mistake or will the girls continue to be the hunted? Please review.


	13. Pictures

**A/N: Sorry, I would have updated last weekend, but I had so much homework. I seriously don't get it. Schools almost over and yet the work doesn't seem to end. Anyway thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing. Here is chapter 13. Enjoy!**

_Previously... The full moon was there and Emily accidentally finds out about James and Taylor. Taylor runs away after Emily yells at her, but comes back in time to save the mermaids from another tentacle assault. Emily gave the two her blessing. Now onto the chapter.  
_

Chapter 13: Pictures

"And here we are," Taylor said as she stepped through the opening into the moon pool.

"I really got to remember the way here," James muttered, following her in, "Then again then I wouldn't need such a cute escort."

Taylor flashed a smile at him before replying, "Thank you, but hurry up. I really don't want any of the others finding us here."

"Why? Now that I'm part of the secret circle of mermaids, I don't see the problem," James asked as he opened his bag, which hung around his shoulder.

"It's not about the being here. It's about you taking pictures of the moon pool," she retorted as he prepared his camera, "Frankly I'm not a big fan of it either, but…" Her voice trailed of as her face blushed a slight shade of red.

"You couldn't resist my charm," James smiled as he raised the camera to his eye, "Don't worry. These pictures will go under the file 'to never be seen by anyone expect James'. Happy?"

"Just hurry up," Taylor told him, but couldn't help but smile as she stepped out of his camera view and leaned against a wall.

She watched James take pictures of the pool, the volcano wall and many other things. Slowly her mind drifted off, only to be brought back by a flash of a camera pointed directly at her. "I thought you wanted to take pictures of the moon pool," Taylor said.

"But I like this motive much better," James smirked.

Taylor rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. "I'm sure you can find a better motive," she replied, "Now hurry up. I really don't like the thought of having Emily or any of the others for that matter find us here."

"I'll make you a proposition," James suggested, "I take two more pictures and then we leave."

"But?" Taylor asked.

"I want them of you as a mermaid," he told her.

"Are you crazy?" Taylor demanded, "No way."

"Come on. I promise they'll go into the same file as the rest," James retorted, making puppy eyes at her.

Taylor tried to look away. It was unfair. He knew her weakness for his puppy eyes. But it was too late. "Okay, but only two," Taylor gave in and dove into the moon pool. Just as she surfaced in the water she heard the first click of the camera and the shutter closing. The second flash came when she rested her arms on the edge of the moon pool with her tail poised behind her.

James smiled as he looked at the end product on his camera. "Perfect," he told her as he put the camera in his bag, "As I promised I'm done."

"Help me out," Taylor said, reaching her hand out.

James took her hand, but only to be pulled into the moon pool by his girlfriend. "I'm going to get you for this," he said as he surfaced and splashed water at her. Laughing they splashed water at one another for a moment.

Sputtering James finally pushed himself out of the water. "That was cheap," he told her.

"But it worked. Besides which guys dream isn't it to have a water fight with a mermaid?" Taylor smiled, mischievously, "Now help me up for real." Even though he didn't trust the peace, he helped her and this time actually didn't need to get wet in the process. After Taylor had returned to normal, they left the moon pool and returned to the mainland by boat. They docked by the docks where they had rented the boat. Rachel's had unfortunately been in the shop for repairs after she had found a hole in the side of the boat, forcing the duo to rent one. Otherwise they would have 'borrowed' hers quietly and hopefully have brought it back before she would have noticed its absence.

While Taylor waited for James to return for the boat rental she sat on a bench, placing his camera next to her and watching the hustle and bustle of the docks. A lot of people came from the pier or came for the market that was on the dock, many merchants praising their catch or other goods. Taylor let her gaze slide over the crowd of people and her heart stopped as her look fell on a certain person. There, only a few yards away from her, stood Dr. Alder. Though he wasn't looking at her at the moment, she couldn't be sure if he hadn't already seen her. Taylor felt panic raise inside her, feeling insecure because she's all alone without any of the other mermaids, even though there were tons of people. There was only one thing on her mind. Get out of here! Find anyone! Shoving people out of her way, she sprinted down the pier. In her mind she thought she heard someone call her name, but she kept running.

Suddenly someone grabbed her arm, making her come to a lurching halt, and give a startled scream. Out of breath Taylor turned, expecting to see Dr. Alder, but instead she saw into the eyes of James. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking at his terrified girlfriend.

"I saw Dr. Alder. I panicked," Taylor stammered, shaking all over, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," James replied and pulled her into a hug. He had heard the story of the mad scientist and could understand her fear for him. Any slip up or accidental sighting of any of the girls could send the man after them again.

When her heartbeat finally calmed down, Taylor realized that their scene had attracted a lot of onlookers. "We should go," Taylor muttered, bright red and tried to pull James after her.

"Wait," he said, "Where is my camera?" Taylor froze as she realized that she had left the camera on the bench during her sudden flight. The duo made their way back to the bench, Taylor keeping an eye on the crowd as she walked half hidden behind James. Luckily they found the camera where they had left it without any distractions and went home.

"So where have you and James been?" Emily smiled as the two returned. She was sitting at Emily's kitchen table, playing cards with the rest of the mermaids.

"Oh you know. Helping James find some good motives for his pictures," Taylor replied.

"I'm sure none of those included you," Amber joked, making Taylor turn bright red.

"Stop it, Amber. You're embarrassing Taylor," Sarah retorted, giving her friend a meaningful look. Amber pouted, but said nothing else.

"I'm going to look at the pictures," James excused himself and walked upstairs.

"And now you won't see anything of him for the next few hours or days, depending, as he sorts through the pictures. That's the only drawback to the whole thing," Emily said, "But I'm glad to see that you two are happy."

"Thanks," Taylor replied.

"Love is a great thing, isn't it," Rachel mused as she leaned back in her chair, "Especially when it's new."

"Stop it," Taylor retorted, her face turning even brighter red.

"Oh come on. You know we're just teasing…," Amber began, but was interrupted by a loud crashing noise coming from upstairs.

"Your parents aren't home, right?" Rachel questioned, carefully and Emily nodded. Curious the five mermaids walked up the stairs.

"James, is everything alright?" Emily asked as she stepped in front of his door and knocked. When no reply came and the only thing they heard was various noises the girls opened the door. The sight of James' usual tidy room being completely turned upside down greeted them. Clothes were scattered all over the floor, drawers were pulled half out of the dresser and papers were everywhere. In the middle of all this was James, on all fours, rummaging through a pile of papers. "James, what is going on?" Emily asked, scared, having never before seen her brother like this.

"It's gone," James replied, not looking up.

"What's gone?" Sarah inquired.

"The sd card with the pictures on it," James answered, still not meeting their gaze.

"You mean with the pictures we took today?" Taylor questioned, fear rising inside her. The panicking voice of his girlfriend finally made him look up. James nodded. Taylor's legs buckled as she whispered, "This is bad."

The four looked at the couple now both on their knees. "What's so bad about that? Okay, I guess you lost some pictures, but you can take them again," Amber pointed out.

"It's not that," Taylor began softly.

"Then what is it?" Sarah asked.

"We were at the moon pool this morning. James took pictures of it, some with me in them. Also some more with me as a… you know," Taylor confessed. Even though the girls knew exactly what Taylor meant, she couldn't dare speak it out.

"What!" Emily exclaimed, "Why did you do that?"

"It's not Taylor's fault. I convinced her to take me," James spoke up.

"It doesn't matter now. We have to find that card before someone sees its contents," Sarah interrupted them. It amazed James that the usually soft spoken girl seemed to be able to break up any kind of fight in the making. "Do you have any idea where you might have lost it?" Sarah inquired.

"No. I always close my camera bag securely. Seeing I didn't want anyone to see the pictures I immediately took the memory card out of the camera once we were done at Mako and put it in a separate pocket so I wouldn't lose it. The only time someone could have had the time to steal the card was while we were at the docks," James told them.

"Why do you think someone stole it? Unless the person knew what was on the card, which is pretty impossible, nobody would have a reason to take it. At least not without the camera," Emily objected, "Maybe you did accidentally leave the zipper open." The siblings glared at each other challengingly.

"So that means our search area is from Mako all the way to the docks," Sarah summarized.

"It's impossible for us to search all of that, even if we are six people," Amber objected.

"Wait, what about that scientist that you saw?" James reminded Taylor.

"Scientist?" Rachel repeated, gravely, "You mean Dr. Alder?"

"Yeah, I saw him and ran," Taylor told them.

"It must have been him. There is no other person, who would be after us or is even close to knowing our secret," Rachel said.

"Lets not get ahead of ourselves," Emily replied, "Maybe it just fell out of your bag at some point."

"You know I would never be that careless with my things," James retorted.

"It could have happened on accident," Emily objected as they started up again.

"Why don't we just check all the places you were and see if we can't find it?" Sarah suggested, stopping the siblings at that.

"Okay," Amber agreed, "How about Emily, Sarah and me will check Mako, while you three see if it's somewhere on the docks?" The six nodded and split up.

As Taylor, Rachel and James arrived at the docks, the couple directed the group to the bench. While Taylor and James searched around the bench, Rachel looked about. On the other side of the docks, a ship caught her eye. It was the same type as Dr. Alder had had before the fire. Rage flared back up inside her and Rachel walked towards it. She was sure that if anyone had the photos, it was the scientist. Any form of fear that she had towards the scientist was extinguished by the rage of his open theft. Not to mention by the idea of what he could do with them.

Without thinking she walked up the gangplank and onto the ship. Rachel quickly found her way to the lab, where she spotted Dr. Alder with his back to her. "Do you have them?" Rachel asked, making Dr. Alder turn around surprised.

"Ah, Rachel, what a pleasant surprise," the scientist said, but realized that something was bothering the girl, "What brings you here?"

"Do you have them?" she repeated, angrily.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Dr. Alder replied.

"Don't you? I know you have the pictures. Who else would take them?" Rachel objected.

"You can continue to accuse me all day, but I still won't know what you're talking about," Dr. Alder told her in a still calm voice.

Rachel's anger subsided for a moment to realize that the scientist really didn't seem to know what she was talking about. "You really didn't take them?" she questioned, her eyes narrowed on her opponent.

"No," Dr. Alder retorted, firmly.

"It seems the scientific community paid for a new boat," Rachel said, her eyes wandering around the lab, "Got some new equipment, I see."

"It tends to do that for top scientists," Dr. Alder shrugged, taking a seat at a work bench, "Want to join me?"

"I'll decline," Rachel retorted curtly, "I'm sure the community wouldn't pay for your boat, if they knew what you were really like."

"Do you honestly believe anyone shows their true face in such a community?" the scientist questioned, his eyes narrowing.

"Whatever. I'm leaving. Good day, Dr. Alder," Rachel said and turned to leave.

"I wish to warn you, Rachel. Whatever you are up against, it's far more dangerous than you can imagine," the scientist told her.

Rachel whirled around on the spot. What did he know about the tentacles? "What do you know?" Rachel inquired, her eyes narrowed.

"Whatever attack you and me on the boat back then, and I'm assuming it wasn't your friends, because they wouldn't hurt you, will not back down due to anything," Dr. Alder explained, "Take care of yourself." Rachel took that as her sign to leave and did so.

Outside she found Taylor and James waiting for her. "What are you doing in there?" Taylor asked, "It's dangerous to go in there alone."

"Don't worry. He knows not to toy with me," Rachel answered, "Besides we had to know, if he has them or not."

"And?" James inquired. Rachel shook her head, replying, "How about you?"

"No luck," Taylor said, but her gaze was thoughtful.

"Lets head back to the house. Maybe the others had more luck," James suggested and Rachel nodded.

The two began to walk off, but quickly realized that Taylor wasn't following them. "What's wrong?" James asked.

"Go on without me. I'll be right behind you. I just want to walk on the beach for a moment alone," Taylor told them.

"You sure?" Rachel questioned and Taylor nodded. Although the two didn't want to, they headed down the street, while Taylor walked towards the beach.

As Taylor strolled down the beach, her thoughts were racing. If it really wasn't Dr. Alder and James really hadn't lost it, then there was only one explanation left. No, that couldn't be true. What was she going to do? Things were getting to complicated for her own good. With a sigh she sunk to the ground into the cool sand. There was no way this was happening.

Taylor was pulled from her thoughts when she once again had the feeling of being watched. Why? "I know you're out there! Come out!" Taylor yelled at the ocean. She waited, expecting something to rise from the ocean, but nothing happened.

"I'm here," a voice suddenly said from behind her, causing shivers to run down her spine, "No need to shout." Taylor whirled around to see a figure standing there, but the sun behind the person made it impossible to be able to see their features. Taylor stared at the figure for a moment. "So what do you want? You called me," the figure asked, breaking Taylor out of her trance.

"You have it, don't you?" Taylor replied, "The pictures?"

* * *

"So you haven't found it either," Rachel said after Sarah, Emily and Amber had returned.

"Nope. Nothing but sand," Amber replied, "We practically dug up the whole moon pool."

"If it's not on Mako nor at the docks or with Dr. Alder where is it?" Emily wondered.

"I'm more worried about Taylor," Sarah replied.

"It can't be easy for her. The pictures show her as a mermaid. If anyone finds them, she's done for," Rachel pointed out.

James slammed his fist on the table. "I should never have persuaded her to let me take her picture, to let me see Mako," he said, angry with himself, "This is all my fault."

"Don't say that. It could have been any of us for that matter," Emily tried to comfort him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Before any of the others could say anything the door opened and Taylor walked in. "Taylor," the girls began, but stopped seeing how solemn the girls face was.

"Is everything alright?" James asked, coming up to her. She simply nodded and held her closed fist out towards them. Slowly she opened it to reveal a sd-card.

"Is that…?" Sarah asked, astonished and Taylor nodded once more.

"Where did you find it?" James inquired.

"Please tell me you didn't just find that in your belongings," Amber joked.

"Why are you so upset, if you found it?" Rachel asked, worried at how strange her friend was acting.

Taylor looked at all her friends before taking a deep breath and whispering softly, "I have a confession to make."

"What now? You're also dating my long lost brother?" Amber joked, but stopped when she noticed how serious Taylor was.

"I know who is attacking us," Taylor confessed.

"What!" all five of them exclaimed, staring at Taylor in disbelief, "Who?"

**A/N: **Yes, who? Who is the mysterious assailant, who keeps attacking the mermaids? What more could be revealed? Please review.


	14. Past

**A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, but there was just no way around it. I hope this chapter gives you some answers to this mystery. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing. Here is chapter 14. Enjoy!  
**

**Dknight27 Bella has had few appearance in this story so far, thus little is known about her. It is never stated, if she did or didn't have powers. Can't say much more.**

**h2omermaidforever I don't always end with cliffies, just sometimes. As for who it is and when I'll update, it's now. ;)**

**Anonamous Thanks for telling me. I hope I did a better job with the spelling here.**

**CelticH2O Jaylor sounds nice.**

_Italics mean a flashback._

_Previously... Taylor takes James to the moon pool, where he takes pictures, also of her. However they lose them and have to admit it to the others. Searching without luck, Taylor meets a mysterious person and returns home to confess that she knows who their attacker is. Now on to the chapter._

Chapter 14: Past

"I know who is attacking us," Taylor confessed.

"What!" all five of them exclaimed, "Who?"

Taylor could feel five sets of eyes bore into her. She took a shaking breath and answered, "It's Marissa."

As the five just stood there for a moment, Taylor could see their brains working, trying to put a face to a name. Then Sarah, who gave up first, asked, "Who's Marissa?"

Only now it dawned on Taylor that they obviously couldn't know who she was talking about. "Marissa is a friend from Ireland," Taylor explained.

"A friend?" Emily repeated, confused, "Why would a friend attack you?"

"Wait. If she has been attacking us then she has powers right?" Rachel questioned, her tone unreadable.

"Yes," Taylor whispered, "She is a mermaid from Ireland like me."

"What!" Amber exclaimed, furious, "So you knew about another mermaid and never even considered that she might be behind all this?!" Taylor flinched at Amber's volume.

"But didn't you tell us that there were no other mermaids?" Sarah inquired, "Why did you lie?" Taylor started to shake with panic. This was exactly what she had been afraid of. They hated her. Any hope of maintaining a friendship with them was slowly, but surely being torn to shreds.

"Stop it," James suddenly commanded, breaking the strange tension, "Let Taylor explain herself. She must have a good explanation for all this." Surprised Taylor looked to James, who had said nothing until then. With a meek nod she thanked him and turned to the mermaids. They too seemed more content to listen to her now as though his strict words blew away from rage.

"Marissa and I have been friends since we were four. The moon pool called to us when we were 7 and transformed us into mermaids," Taylor told them.

Rachel thought for a moment and then asked, "Was she also part of that place?"

"That place?" Emily repeated, confused as they stared at Rachel. For the second time in a short while they found Rachel knowing more than she had admitted to.

Taylor saw no more reason to hide anything from them and since she was already telling the truth she decided to tell everyone. "Bella is not my real mother. She's my aunt. After she found out that her niece was in a foster home, she and her husband adopted me when I was ten," Taylor explained and watched the expression of her friends' faces. Rachel stayed neutral, as expected, but the rest showed the pitying gaze that Taylor hated so much. "I don't need your sympathy," Taylor quickly added.

"What happened to your real parents?" Sarah inquired, but realized it might have been insensitive and added quickly, "If you want to tell us."

"My mother left shortly after my birth and so my father took care of me. Although he was a great, kind man, he was an alcoholic. He was always on and off jobs, never having one for long and sometimes would have fits of rage, but he would never hurt me, or at least I don't remember that he did," Taylor answered, "However child services took me away one day and put me in a foster home when I was four. My father never came to look for me and the foster home searched for any living relatives that I might still have. However as the months past I started to drown in sorrow and confusion. It was then that I met Marissa. She helped me get used to life in a foster home and we became friends..." As she said those words, they triggered a memory.

_A five year old Taylor laid curled up on bed, which stood in a row with many others to one side of the room. She was in her dormitory, the curtains drawn shut to leave out any sunny. She was crying. "Why are you crying?" a voice suddenly asked, making her look up startled. She hadn't heard anyone come in. Standing in front of her bed was a girl, who she recognized as one of her dormmates. "Who are you?" Taylor questioned. "My name is Marissa," the girl smiled, but then became serious again, "Why are you crying? It's your birthday today, right?" Taylor wiped her tears out of her eyes and answered, "This is no birthday. Where is my dad? Won't he come? Just singing happy birthday at breakfast isn't a birthday." Taylor could feel tears starting to well up again when Marissa reached her hand out to her and said, "Come with me Taylor. Lets get out of here and do something." Taylor stared at the hand for a moment, as though it could be contagious, but then took it and let herself be led out the room._

Taylor smiled at the memory. Back then they had played in a sandbox the whole day, but it had been the best day she had spent at the foster home so far. Since then the two had been inseparable. "I can say with great certainty that if it wasn't for Marissa back then, who helped me out of my depression, I would not have survived," Taylor concluded her recollection.

The five stared at Taylor, even Rachel, since she had never heard this extent of the story, the forbidden sympathy welling up inside them. "Was it that bad?" Amber asked in an usually kind voice, remembering the horror tales that some people told of foster care.

Taylor quickly shook her head and replied, "No, I was lucky. I always had nice foster families or at least nicer ones. That doesn't mean that there aren't other kinds of foster families, who treat us foster children not as kindly. But for me it was the fact of ever changing homes, never calling a house home for long. The problem is that families usually have set time or age for how long they'll keep a child and the really good ones are always taken. Never settling somewhere long, never building permanent relationships is tough. Marissa was the only who was always there for me no matter what and so I decided to stay in the foster home at the age of seven, like her. Shortly after I made that decision, we turned into mermaids."

"You were able to keep it a secret in a foster home?" Sarah questioned, marveling at the feat.

"It wasn't easy. We obviously had no idea what being a mermaid entailed. We snuck out of bed after lights out to shower and always had to be careful around water. During our first full moon we were both moonstruck and turned all the drinks at dinner into gelatin," Taylor replied, smiling as she remembered the good memories, "Our supervisors demanded to know who had done it and when no one came forward to confess, everyone was forced to clean the house the next day. It was Marissa who said that we had to get our powers under control and face the moon. That's what we did and it worked. Since then we haven't once been moonstruck."

"That's amazing," Emily muttered, admiringly, "You were very brave."

"We were able to keep this up for three years without anyone ever finding out. Often we stole away from the house to go swimming or to just float in the moon pool. However when I was 10 Bella and her husband arrived. She said she was my aunt, but didn't have anything to do with my dad for many years. Bella had only just heard of me being in the foster system, because she was traveling around the world at the time, and took me in. That's why it took the foster home so long to find her. I was amazed at how kind she was. She took me in like I was her own child," Taylor continued, "She even agreed to move to Rockport, so that I wouldn't have to get used to a new environment."

"And what happened to Marissa?" Rachel inquired.

"She stayed in the foster home. We met in the afternoons and during school, if she attended," Taylor answered, "It wasn't the same, but it was better than nothing."

"She didn't attend school?" Emily questioned, in disbelieve.

"Marissa was never one for school. She skipped it sometimes, but after I moved in with Bella it seemed to become more," Taylor explained, "That's how our life was. Until of course, I came here with you."

"But why didn't you tell us about her? Why is she attacking us?" Amber demanded to know.

"During the time that passed between meeting you for the first time and the meeting in the moon pool, I obviously found Marissa and told her about you. She asked me to keep her out of all my stories, which I did. I don't know why she didn't want to meet you, but she listened in on our conversation and later persuaded me to go with you to the Gold Coast," Taylor replied and then added meekly, "She assured me by saying that she would follow me. I don't know why she's attacking us. I really don't." The mermaids stared at each other, each silently following their own thoughts.

"And what does the sd card have to do with all this?" James questioned, breaking the silence.

"She was the one who took it," Taylor explained and regaled them in her tale as she thought back.

_"I know you're out there! Come out!" Taylor yelled at the ocean. She waited, expecting something to rise from the ocean, but nothing happened. _

_"I'm here," a voice suddenly said from behind her, causing shivers to run down her spine as she recognized the voice, "No need to shout." Taylor whirled around to see a figure standing there, but the sun behind the person made it impossible to be able to see their features. Taylor stared at the figure for a moment. It had been so long since she had seen her. "So what do you want? You called me," Marissa asked, breaking Taylor out of her trance. _

_"You have it, don't you? The pictures," Taylor replied. With a smile Marissa produced the card from her pocket. _

_"It was amazingly easy to get a hold of it," she said as she tossed it to Taylor, who caught it. _

_"Why do this?" Taylor asked, "You nearly gave a heart attack." _

_"I was bored," Marissa smirked, but then turned serious, "You really think that boy is good for you?" _

_"James is a good person. He'll keep my secret, I'm sure of it," Taylor retorted. _

_"If you say so," Marissa replied, dismissively. _

_"What's that supposed to mean?" Taylor inquired. _

_"He's a human, Taylor. How long until he sells you out for a story or asking favors in exchange for keeping the secret?" Marissa asked. _

_"He's not like that. Not every human is out for profit," Taylor objected. _

_"Keep telling yourself that. Lets hope you wake up before it's too late, because I won't be around to save you this time," Marissa said._

"_I still have the others. Emily, Sarah, Amber and Rachel," Taylor retorted, "They will help me." _

_"From what I've seen, they can barely defend themselves, let alone you," Marissa told her, "What about that scientist? If it wasn't for me, you would already be the star of the scientific community." _

_Slowly it dawned on Taylor what her friend was saying and she stammered, "It was you… You started the fire on Dr. Alders ship." _

_Marissa nodded, smiling, "You can thank me later." _

_"Thank you?! You could have seriously hurt Rachel or Dr. Alder!" Taylor exclaimed. _

_"Small sacrifices have to be made to achieve a larger goal," Marissa simply replied as she turned to walk away, "It seems like your head has already been polluted. I'm surprised you haven't told them about me yet. I'll see you soon, Taylor. I'm sure our intertwined paths will make us meet again." _

_"Wait! Why are you attacking us?" Taylor questioned, "What did they ever do to you?" Marissa ignored Taylor and with grace, that can only be learned through years of practice, she dove into the water. Taylor stared after her friend. This whole scene was a shot in the heart. Her life long friend didn't seem to exist anymore. At least not like she had once been. What more she was now fill with more doubt than ever.  
_

"That girl is crazy," Amber said as Taylor finished her recollection.

"Please don't call Marissa crazy. I know she can be a little hard to deal with, but she hasn't had an easy life," Taylor replied.

"She's trying to kill us," Amber retorted, "No screwed up life can account for that."

"Amber, calm down," Sarah said, "Getting angry won't help."

"That at least explains the fire on Dr. Alders boat," Rachel muttered, though she didn't seem too angry.

"Wait a minute. If Marissa became a mermaid in your moon pool, how is she able to control water to make it into a tentacle or create fire?" Emily questioned, thoughtfully.

Taylor looked to the side uncomfortably and then answered, "I think I know… Marissa must have used the full moon on the day that I arrived to gain your powers."

"That's possible?" James questioned, but the mermaids could only shrug.

"There is no other explanation," Taylor replied.

"Wait, then she has all three of our powers and yours," Amber concluded, "No wonder we were never able to beat her really with that much magic."

"Are you sure you don't know what she's up to?" Sarah asked.

Taylor nodded. "I don't know. She never mentioned it to me," Taylor answered and then rubbed her temples, "If you don't have any more questions, can I go to bed? I'm really tired."

"One more question," Amber spoke up, even though she could see that Taylor was already fighting the weariness, "Why know? Why are you telling us all this now? You must have suspected it was Marissa for some time now and she even endangered the lives of so many people."

"You're right. I have suspected that it was Marissa since the second or third attack," Taylor admitted, weakly, "However I didn't want to believe it. I tried to convince myself that it couldn't be her. However when she admitted to it today, I couldn't lie to myself and you anymore. Can I go now?"

None of them said anything more and Taylor simply went upstairs. Even James couldn't bring himself to talk to his girlfriend.

Upstairs Taylor curled up onto her bed. The day had been too much for her. On the one hand she had finally told Sarah, Amber, Emily and Rachel the truth. About her, about Marissa, about everything. She had finally come clean, but at the same time Taylor knew she had lost something of theirs. Their trust. Their trust in her. On the other hand she had finally seen Marissa after such a long time. Never before, ever since Taylor could remember, were they apart for more than a day. She would have thought it would have been a joyous reunion with a hug. She would have thought that she would find out that it had all been a big misunderstanding and that everyone could be friends. Instead Taylor met a stranger. No matter how she looked at it that was not the Marissa she knew from those many years back. And even though that person she met wasn't Marissa, Taylor felt like she was betraying Marissa. No matter what she did she could never make it right for everyone. Her head hurt as her thoughts raced, but she could not shut them off. Even though she had more friends than ever, even a boyfriend, right now, at this very moment, she felt the most alone, like back then when she first arrived at the foster home. She could only hope that once more someone would reach out to save her.

The next day the five girls walked to school, though it was different than usual. No one talked, no joyful faces were present. The four Australian mermaids looked at Taylor worried. She hadn't slept at all that night and was subdued, her thoughts not leaving her alone for even a second. However the four others and James were no better off. All night they had worried about their friend, but couldn't bring themselves to talk to her. Whether this was, because they felt betrayed by Taylor or simply because they didn't know what to say to her, they couldn't tell. The five of them had sat in the kitchen for a long time in silence and had each for themselves digested the information that Taylor had given them. Late at night they all went home and into their bedrooms, but even there they could find no rest. Thus all the girls were exhausted and it would prove to be a long and difficult school day.

Just then someone stepped into their path, forcing the group to an abrupt halt. "Watch where you're going," Amber reproached the person.

Taylor slowly looked up and her eyes widened. "Marissa," she whispered, making all the girls stare at the girl in their path. Her hair was a strange blonde that seemed to give off a light, greenish hue and went all the way to the small of her back, curling beautifully in the process. Her eyes were the color of the crystal blue ocean. The word beautiful would not do her justice and no matter how the girls looked at her, the aura of a mermaid that Marissa gave off was intriguing. How could someone like this could ever be after them, seemed to be the only question on everyone's mind.

Once the girls had snapped out of their daze, they each carefully got their hand ready to call upon their magic, preparing for an assault. Would she attack them on the open street in front of so many people? If she did they would have no choice, but to defend themselves, even if it meant revealing their secret. Marissa simply smirked and asked, "Aren't you going to introduce us, Taylor?" Although she found the request odd, Taylor was about to begin introducing everyone, when Marissa interrupted, "On second thought don't. I know all I need to know about you."

Amber gritted her teeth and clenched her fist as she hissed, "You know nothing about us."

"Don't I, fire girl?" Marissa smirked, arching an eyebrow, "I don't think you want to know what I know about you." Amber glared at the girl, but she remained unimpressed.

"And you can all stop getting ready to pounce. I have no intention of attacking you here," Marissa told them, but none of them relaxed even a muscle, "Suit yourself. I only wanted you to be more comfortable while I talk to you, so you can stop thinking of me as rude."

"What do you mean?" Emily questioned.

"Taylor is the one who wanted to know," Marissa replied and added after a dramatic pause, "…Why I attack you."

Immediately all five's attention was on Marissa even more than it had already been. "You're just going to tell us?" Rachel inquired in disbelieve.

"Yes," Marissa answered with a nod, "In truth I'm not after you. You're just in my way."

"Then what are you after?" Sarah demanded to know.

"Just stay out of my way and we won't have a reason to meet anymore," Marissa retorted and with that turned on her heel and walked off, "This is your last waring."

The five stared after Marissa, but none could seem to be able to pull themselves from the spot where they were rooted. It took Emily looking at her watch and exclaiming, "Guys, school starts in a few minutes! We have to hurry!" for them to get going. Once more they were all going after their own thoughts.

**A/N: **Their enemy has been revealed, but at the same time more questions have been thrown into the air. What is Marissa really after? Will the girls be able to rekindle after the blow that Taylor's confession brought upon them? Please review.


	15. Friends?

**A/N: Another update! Man, when you don't have school bugging you all the time, it's amazing what you can get done, especially considering this chapter is fairly long. Thanks for reading it. Here is chapter 15. Enjoy!**

**h2omermaidforever That's exactly what I thought when I finished the last chapter and now I'm changing it. Got to give the boys their screen time, right? ;)**

**Ananomous It's great to know that I've made progress. I hope to continue it.**_Previously... Taylor confesses to the girls that her friend from Ireland, Marissa, is after the attacks. She reveals more about her past and the girls start to doubt her loyalty to them. A surprise encounter with Marissa leaves the group threatening to fall apart. Now on to the chapter.  
_

Chapter 15: Friends?

"This is horrible," Rachel thought as she sat on a bench on the school campus, her head resting on her palms. The bell had just rung, ending the school day. However instead of the five of them leaving together to go home and laughing, each of them was walking alone, solemnly. The whole day they had been subdued, not a single word was exchanged between them. Even as the last bell rang, they hadn't left the classroom together. Amber had stormed out before the sound of the bell even subsided, but Rachel suspected that the blonde had also been fleeing from the lesson. Emily had followed in an orderly fashion, not too hasty, but not to slow either, so that it wouldn't gather attention. Taylor had been out of it the whole day and had stumbled through the door after most of the other students had left. Sarah had turned around to look at Rachel, her eyes revealing a lot of her inner conflict, and then her gaze went back to Taylor to watch her leave, before she had done the same. Rachel had slowly packed her things and left as the last one. Now, instead of going to the science club, where she had been expected, she had sat down on campus to think.

Maybe they would have made up by now, but after Marissa had caught up with them that morning that fantasy had been blown out of the window. Any understanding of Taylor's situation had been destroyed by Marissa and her behavior. None of them could understand how Taylor could cover for such a person. Although Rachel couldn't understand it, she did not resent Taylor for it. She was closer to Taylor than any of the other three, probably because it was hard to become part of such a tightly knitted group. Rachel knew that, seeing it had taken her a lot of time to get in it, even if the others hadn't tried to keep her out on purpose. It's just that there was always something special about the core of such a group.

Plus Taylor had confided in her a lot more than in the others. About her past, her family and her love for James. Although it left a sour taste in her mouth to think that Taylor did not trust her enough to tell her about Marissa, Rachel couldn't force herself to believe that Taylor had done it all on purpose.

Subconsciously Rachel had reached for her phone and dialed a number as her head revolved around her thoughts. Only when a voice came out of the phone did she realize what she was doing. "Rachel? What's wrong?" Alex asked as he took the call, "You have mermaid problems again?"

"Okay, who told you? You can't seriously have guessed it," Rachel demanded to know.

"No one told me nor did I guess," Alex retorted.

"Then what makes you think something is wrong?" Rachel questioned.

"I can tell because of your voice," Alex explained, which made Rachel blush, slightly, "Plus you're calling me in the middle of school. Need I say more? So what's wrong?" Instantly her blush subsided and she almost thought of a snippy remark, but then told him what had happened with a sigh. He never interrupted her once. A quality she loved him even more for.

At the end of the story Alex was silent for a moment and then said, "I'll be honest that it's not easy and there isn't exactly a textbook answer to this either."

"But?" Rachel questioned, hopefully.

"I'll say this much. The one who's hurting the most is Taylor and you know that. You were in the same situation only last year. They didn't trust you anymore," Alex told her, "Do what you wish they would have done for you?"

Rachel listened astonished. Now that he had said it, it seemed so obvious. How could she not have thought of it? "Thank you, Alex. I'll do that," Rachel smiled.

"Welcome," Alex replied, "But now I should go before the teacher realizes that I'm taking too much time in the bathroom. She probably already thinks I passed out or something." Rachel laughed as she realized what she had done.

Alex was about to hang up when Rachel said, "I love you and not just for your great advice."

"I hope so. I love you too," Alex replied, "Bye. Talk to you soon." With that he hung up.

Rachel looked at her phone, lovingly. The few encouraging words and a laugh was all she had needed and she felt her resolve as strong as before the whole mess. Rachel jumped up from her seat, startling a few students that just happened to walk past her in that moment, and hurried off.

* * *

Sarah didn't even leave the school, but instead walked down to the science rooms. She knew who she would find there. In one of the rooms a few members of the science club were already assembling, even though they still had half a hour time. One of them was Ryan, however she also noted that Rachel was absent. From the door she waited for him to look up. It took the nudging of one of the other members to get him to look up and come to her. "You have a minute?" Sarah asked, "I need someone to talk to." Ryan nodded and followed her into an empty classroom a few doors down.

There, after they had each sat down on a table, she explained what had happened the night before and that morning. Ryan had noticed that the girls had been acting differently, but hadn't been able to say anything, seeing no moment seemed good enough. Silently he listened to his girlfriend's problem. "Fascinating," Ryan muttered when Sarah had finished, "I never would have thought a mermaid could gain even more powers, if she was in a different moon pool than her own."

If Sarah hadn't been sitting firmly, she was sure to have fallen off her desk. Then again what had she been expecting from Ryan? "It seems so," Sarah agreed.

"Then she's as strong as all four of you combined, if we exclude Rachel, who isn't a real mermaid anymore," Ryan hypothesized.

"Yeah," Sarah replied, "We are usually in a stalemate with her and only if all four of us and Rachel work together can we beat her."

"And what is she after?" Ryan questioned.

"No idea. She says she's not after us, even though she's only been attacking us so far," Sarah answered.

They sat there in silence for a moment, thinking about Marissa and her motives. "And what bothers you about all this?" Ryan suddenly inquired when Sarah had almost believed he had forgot why they were even here.

"Well, although I'm not thrilled about Taylor lying to us, I get it. She was protecting a friend and I respect that, even though I would have thought she saw us as good enough friends to tell us the truth," Sarah explained, "Also I wanted to help her, but I knew if I helped her, our group would have split apart even further." Sarah's voice got smaller and smaller as she explained.

"So pretty much you are confused by Taylor's actions and don't understand why she didn't tell you," Ryan summarized, "But you are also are mad at yourself for not sticking up for her and you're wondering what would have happened, if you had." Sarah nodded.

Then Ryan got up, sat down next to Sarah and hugged her. "I think you did the right thing," he told her, his head leaning on hers, "There is no telling what Amber would have done, if you had sided with Taylor. I believe you stopped a lot more damage from occurring by doing nothing." Sarah silently listened to her boyfriend, simply enjoying his closeness. "As for Taylor's actions, let me ask you this," Ryan continued, "If someone were to come to you and say that if you didn't do what he said, he would release the proof of Amber and Emily being mermaids to the world, what would you do? If you weren't allowed to tell them."

Sarah took her head from Ryan's shoulder and looked at him. "I would tell him or her to leave them alone and that I would do whatever he wanted," Sarah answered, "I would never let them get hurt, if I can't stop it. They are my precious friends."

Ryan smiled at her. "There's your answer. To Taylor, not matter how confusing it may be to us, Marissa is a precious friend that has helped her in so many occasions and now Taylor felt it was her turn to protect her friend, even if the method was unorthodox," Ryan smiled.

Sarah looked at Ryan for a moment, then cupped his face and kissed him. "What was that for?" Ryan asked, pleasantly surprised.

"For being the best boyfriend in the world," Sarah smiled and kissed him once more on the cheek, "I have to go now."

"Where to?" Ryan questioned.

"To find Amber and Emily. I need to talk to them," Sarah answered and hurried out the door, "You should also get back to your club." Startled Ryan looked up at the clock. Now, instead of being half a hour too early, he was half a hour too late. Quickly he hurried back to his club to get a disapproving look from the teacher and smothered laughs from his fellow members.

* * *

She hated liars. There were few things, Emily didn't like, but lying was one of them. It was one of the things her mother had passed down to her. Lying was wrong, especially to the people you like. That was one of the reasons she sometimes hated herself. She lied about who she was, but there was no other choice. That's why she tried to lie as little as possible, but Taylor clearly hadn't cared about that. Every time she had talked about herself, about the attacks, she had lied. It made Emily wonder, how much of what she had told them had been a lie. Plus she couldn't understand how Taylor could lie for a person like Marissa. So arrogant.

After Emily left school, she walked to the promenade where she already saw Daniel waiting for her. They had actually planned the date before hand, because they had had such little time to see each other. When Daniel saw Emily his face lit up and he smiled. Emily smiled back, though it was a halfhearted smile. After a brief kiss, they began to stroll down the down the shopping promenade, hand in hand. They did some window shopping and talked. Well, Daniel did the talking, while Emily just followed him, deep in thought. "Yeah, I have some really big exams coming up, so I'm going to have to spend a lot of time studying," he told her, but he had already noticed that Emily wasn't listening, "Actually, I think it's too much pressure for me, so I thought I might drop out. You know, maybe work at a fast food joint."

When this didn't even get a reaction from Emily about how he could throw his future away, he stopped and turned her around, so that she faced him. "What's wrong?" Daniel questioned. "Nothing is wrong," Emily protested, meekly. "Really? Then why have I been talking to myself for the last half hour?" he asked, slightly ticked off. "You haven't…," Emily began, but saw there was no point to it. Looking around for a quiet place, Daniel understood what it was about. He led her down the steps to the beach to a fairly vacant spot for the location. Sitting down in the sand, Emily began to explain. Daniel only interrupted when he wanted something to be explained more thoroughly.

"So you're mad that she lied to you?" Daniel inquired.

"Yes. She put so many people in danger by doing so and doesn't even seem to care," Emily retorted, "Plus we've been completely upright to her about everything and she just lies to our faces."

"Aren't you being a little bit too harsh?" Daniel retorted, thoughtfully.

"Too harsh? How is it too harsh when Marissa nearly drowned the entire Gold Coast?" Emily objected, firmly.

"You know what, you're right. I think you should stay away from her," he finally said, "Not only her, but Taylor especially."

Emily stared at him. "What?" she asked, astonished, almost positive that she had misheard.

"You should stay away from them. Obviously Marissa is a very dangerous person and is not afraid to hurt you to get to whatever she wants," Daniel explained.

"But Taylor…," Emily began, but Daniel interrupted, "Is a link between you and Marissa. Get rid of you and I'm sure Marissa will leave you alone."

Emily gawked at her boyfriend for a moment and then jumped up, yelling, "How can you say that! Taylor is a friend! I can't just forget about her!"

They stared into each others' eyes for a moment, but then Daniel broke out into a smile. "I'm glad you see it like that," he smiled.

Now Emily was completely lost. "Wait, what?!" she asked.

"I knew you were just angry, but nothing serious that would endanger your friendship to Taylor. You know it's pretty practical to visit a course on psychology," Daniel explained, still smirking, "Now sit down or the others will never stop staring."

Emily looked around to see several people looked over to them and quickly sat down, blushing. "You tricked me," she accused him, but couldn't help but smile.

"Well, now that you have calmed down, how about this. Would you lie to protect Sarah, Amber, or even Rachel?" Daniel asked.

"Of course," Emily answered, immediately.

"Well, it's the same for Taylor. She would do anything for her friend. Imagine what it must have meant for her to betray her friend," he told her.

Emily gazed at Daniel and then hugged him. "Thank you," she breathed into his shirt and then gave him a kiss, "I'm sorry, but I have to go."

Daniel frowned, "I really shouldn't have cheered you up. Now you're leaving again."

As she stood, Emily placed her finger to her lips and looked down to him, teasingly. "I'll make it up to you another time. Promise," she replied and walked off.

"I really shouldn't have let her cheered her up," Daniel muttered, looking after her, but he knew that he could never have not done it. He loved her smile too much for that.

* * *

Amber tapped her foot, annoyed. Jordan was late. After leaving school, she had dropped him a quick text, telling him to meet her at the camp site. In the summer it housed tons of campers and staff, which had included her only last year, but during the rest of the year it was usually deserted, as it was right now. That's why often the two met there to be alone.

Amber was just pissed off. It wasn't just that Jordan was over half a hour late, but also that Taylor had just flat out lied to them. She wasn't as big of a liar hater as Emily was, but Taylor had, by keeping her mouth shut, contributed to the fact that people were hurt. Amber had unintentionally hurt someone last year under the spell of the new moon and had vowed back then to never let a normal person get hurt because of mermaid things. Because of Taylor, she had broken that promise. A promise she had hoped never to break. Not to mention that people like Marissa easily got under Amber's skin, adding to her anger.

Amber looked up as she heard footsteps approaching. It was Jordan. "You're late," she snapped. She knew it wasn't really Jordan's fault she was in such a bad mood, but she needed to get her anger out and he was the only person here.

"Good day to you too," he retorted, immediately noticing Amber's foul mood, "I had to help a girl find their way." By mentioning it was a girl any chance of Amber coming back to her senses was gone.

"A girl? So couldn't have explained the way, like any normal person, but instead had to escort her there?" Amber demanded to know.

"She was new here," Jordan protested, starting to get angry as well, "You know I'm not your lackey. I don't have to justify myself in front of you."

Just then Jordan's phone rang. A text and judging from the smile it was from that girl. "Why don't you just say so, if you don't want to be together with me anymore!" Amber yelled, "Better be honest, instead of being a lying snake like Taylor!"

"Listen, I don't know what happened between you, but make up. You're unbearable in such a mood," Jordan retorted.

"Like I said, go. I won't hold you back," Amber repeated, annoyed.

"You know what, I will," Jordan said and turned to leave, "Consider us broken up."

With that he walked off. Amber stared after him. Those last words were the slap to the face she needed to get back to her senses. What had she done? Sometimes she hated herself for her temper. Now she had to do something. Something she hated.

* * *

Taylor walked away from school as though in a trance. Everything had been going so well, but now it was coming down all around her. It almost didn't surprise her. "My luck was bound to run out eventually," she thought. The worst part was that she understood it. She understood why everyone was furious with her. She had lied to them, had put not only them, but their family and everyone they knew in danger, and worst of all dared to call herself a friend through it all. For misusing their trust, she now had to pay the price and it was a high one.

Why hadn't she told them of Marissa from the start? Because Marissa had asked them not to. Why hadn't she told them when she was realizing what her so called friend was doing? Because she had believed in the good that was no longer there. Had it ever been? Taylor shook her head. She had no idea. These and many more questions interrogated her silently. It surprised her that she hadn't already broken down. Hadn't burst into tears. Either way it didn't matter. Breaking down or not, she was alone and no one was going to save her from the darkness that accompanied that loneliness.

Taylor looked up when she heard the noise of joyful chatter. She was passing a beach café and just above her a group of girls were sitting at a table on a porch, gossiping and laughing. It wrenched her heart. That could have been her at one point. It struck her that she had no real friends outside of her mermaid group. Obviously with her secret, Taylor had never been keen to make new ones, but now she regretted it. There was no one she could talk to and she envied the girls at the table, who could talk so freely amongst themselves.

A red haired waitress came down the steps towards Taylor. "Can I help you?" she asked, her green eyes looking at her. Taylor simply shook her head, but couldn't help but notice that she seemed stressed. Looking up to the café once more, Taylor realized that it was close to bursting with the amount of customers and it seemed she was the only waitress there. "I'm sorry, but I got to go. My coworker called in sick this morning and now I'm managing this all on my own. Sorry, I guess I shouldn't be bothering you with my problems," the waitress said as she hurried back up the steps, "You're welcome to come though. One more person won't matter." Taylor stared after her. She was talking so freely and even though she was stressed out, she didn't say a single mean word and only smiled.

The waitress was nearly back up the stairs, when Taylor asked, "Mind if I jump in?"

Surprised the waitress turned around, her ponytail nearly whip lashing her. "I can't let you…," she began to object, but started to reconsider as she saw the mass of people waiting for her, "Ever do this before?"

"Occasionally," Taylor answered, though that was a serious understatement, seeing she had been working in a café in Rockport for nearly 4 years. The waitress motioned for her to follow.

The next few hours consisted of serving and taking orders. Although it was hard and exhausting work, Taylor was happy. In the chaos she was able to forget her problems and focus completely on the customers, not wanting to disappoint any of them. Through her long years of work, it was like pressing a button and she was back in waitress mode. Although the café was fairly small, it attracted many customers, giving them the option to sit on the porch to look out at the ocean or to enjoy the ocean themed interior decor. It was a simple, yet beautiful place.

Once the café had cleared out, leaving only a few guests, the waitress waved Taylor over to a table and placed strawberry smoothie in front of her. "Here, as a thank you. It's our famous strawberry smoothie," she smiled as she sat down across from Taylor, "I don't know what I would have done without you today."

"Die of overworking," Taylor replied and the two had to laugh.

"I'm Sierra, by the way," the waitress introduced herself, "I can only thank you again. You were amazing in there. You sure you aren't a waitress pro?"

"Pretty sure and I'm Taylor," Taylor smiled as she sipped her smoothie, letting the flavor of fresh strawberries and cream expand in her mouth, "I can see why it's famous." It felt good to have someone to talk to that didn't know of the whole mess.

"I'm glad you cheered up. I don't mean to pry, but you seemed very depressed back then," Sierra said, "Was something bothering you?" Instantly she regretted her question as Taylor's face darkened once more as everything came crushing down on the peace that she had just been able to grasp. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…," Sierra began, but Taylor interrupted, "I've got to go." With that she got up, leaving her smoothie half finished, and walked out of the café.

Once outside Taylor felt the weight of her dilemma full force again on her. It was as though the café was a safe haven and now that she left it, she was back in the storm. Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, Sierra appeared at the top. "If you want, you can help out here again," she told Taylor.

Taylor looked up at her and simply replied, "I'll think about it." Sierra smiled. Taylor started to walk off again.

"Oh and Taylor!" she called after her, "Don't let yourself get dragged down, not matter what the problem is! If you can take care of a mob of customers, you can do anything!" Although Taylor didn't reply nor turn around, a small smile spread across her face. Then just as quickly it disappeared, consumed by her troubles.

Again Taylor walked aimlessly around until she ended up on the beach. Whenever she had a problem, she would go to the moon pool, but seeing that wasn't an option, Taylor just sat down and watched the waves. Retreating and coming back, retreating and back. The waves almost put her in a trance, slowly drowning out her sorrow.

"Taylor," a voice said, shattering Taylor's trance and making her whirl around.

"Rachel," she whispered, seeing her friend as instantly everything came back, "What do you want?"

"I want to do the thing for you that no one did for me back then," Rachel replied.

"What?" Taylor asked, giving her friend a look.

"Well, that sounded cooler in my head," Rachel muttered, but then explained, "Back when I was being controlled, even though I willingly cut off my ties to the others to protect them, I wanted them to come to me. Realize what was wrong with me and help. Of course they did, but until then I was drowning in loneliness, only that stupid voice in my head was there. I don't want you to be alone."

"But what about Marissa?" Taylor questioned.

"Who cares. I'm not going to let your past or anything stop me," Rachel objected.

Taylor stared at Rachel and felt tears running down her face. "Thank you," she whispered as she wiped the tears away with her back hand.

"Come with me, Taylor," Rachel said as she reached her hand out for her, "You don't have to do this alone." For a moment Taylor thought she saw Marissa standing in front of her. For the second time in her life it seemed like a savior stood before her. "Come on," Rachel coaxed when Taylor hesitated.

Carefully she took the hand and was pulled up. Taylor felt a pleasant warmth spread from her hand throughout her entire body. "Thank you," she whispered as Taylor led her to the street.

"Not for this," Rachel replied, smiling, "I should have done this last night."

"Taylor!" suddenly three voices called. Coming from three different directions, Sarah, Amber and Emily hurried up to the two.

Instinctively Taylor shrank back behind Rachel, who stepped protectively in front of her. "Listen guys, if you are going to disrespect Taylor, leave now. I won't let you hurt her," Rachel told them. All of them stared at each other.

"Taylor, I want to say, I understand. You protected a friend," Sarah spoke up, "I can't find a fault in that."

"And even if you lied to us, how can we blame you for that? Don't we all lie, some maybe more than others," Emily continued.

"I don't really understand anything yet, but I don't think you would put people in danger on purpose," Amber ended.

Taylor stared at the three mermaids. "So… you forgive me?" she asked, stepping out from behind Rachel. All four of them nodded. Looking from Rachel to the others, Taylor realized that she didn't have just one savior from the darkness, but four. Silently she promised herself to not mess this up again.

"Now that this is settled, how about I tell you a bit more about myself," Taylor suggested, smiling, "I know a great place." The four exchanged a confused look, but followed her anyway.

A while later they arrived at the café. Sierra was in the middle of cleaning up. "Hey, Sierra!" Taylor called up, surprising the red head, "Have a table for us?" Sierra smiled and quickly ushered them to a table with a grand view of the beach at the edge of the porch. After quick introductions and the taking of orders, Sierra was about to leave, when Taylor said, "I would love to work here, Sierra. Call me anytime." Sierra beamed from ear to ear and nodded before disappearing to get the drinks.

Taylor was about to start talking, when she noticed how Amber was sulking. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I kind of yelled at Jordan while I was mad at you. He had met another girl and seemed pretty impressed by her…," Amber told them, but then her eyes widened, "Jordan!" All four followed the blonde's gaze to the beach below, where Jordan was walking together with… Marissa! "Get away from her!" Amber exclaimed as she was nearly halfway down the stairs.

"Amber," Jordan said startled, "What is your…" He began, but suddenly he found himself face down in the sand.

Looking up, he saw Marissa hold her hand out over him. "I wouldn't move, if I were you," she warned him.

"Get away from him!" Amber commanded as she raised her hand, ready to strike and the others arrived behind her.

"Cool your jets, fire girl. I don't care about your lover at all," Marissa said, nonchalant.

"Then get away from him," Amber repeated, her hand still raised as the others followed suit.

"You really want a battle here?" Marissa questioned, her eyes wandering to the café. Taylor froze and slowly lowered her hand. "You really should follow Taylor's example. She seems to be the smartest one out of you," Marissa told them. Reluctantly they all slowly lowered their hands one after another, Amber lowering hers last. "It seems you're still going to oppose me. I gave you a warning and now I won't have mercy on you," Marissa said.

"What kind of warning? We don't even know what you're after," Emily retorted, "How can we stop protecting something, when we don't even know what it is?"

Marissa was about to say something, when suddenly Sarah's phone rang and she slowly answered it, one eye always on Marissa. "Sarah, it's me, Ryan. Put me on speaker," Ryan said in a frantic voice and Sarah did as she was told, "I figured it out. A lot of the attacks were not aimed at you, but at normal people. She's after normal people."

All five looked up at Marissa. "You really have a smart boyfriend," she sneered, "He's right."

"But why Marissa?" Taylor asked, stepping forward confused.

"Bye, bye," Marissa replied and with that called upon a gust of wind to blow up sand, blocking their view of her. Once the wind ebbed away, she was gone.

"Why?" Taylor repeated, staring at the spot where her friend had just stood.

"Jordan," Amber said as she hurried to his side, "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," he answered as he slowly pushed himself up, "I really have to stop being captured by your enemies. What happened any…?"

But Amber planted a firm kiss on his lips, cutting off any words. "I'm so glad you're alright," she whispered when they finally broke apart.

"What are you all doing down there?" Sierra asked, confused as she came back outside with the drinks.

After they had caught Jordan up with the latest news, careful not to be overheard by Sierra, and paid for their drinks, the five girls headed home. As the four, Rachel had returned home, entered Emily's house, they were greeted by an unusual sight. Cleo, Emma and Rikki were sitting in Emma's kitchen together with a woman, whose back was to them. "Ah, you're back," Emma greeted them, "Someone wants to meet you."

All of them exchanged a curious look and then the woman turned around. Taylor gasped, "Mom!"

**A/N:** The girls have patched up the worst of the damage and now know what Marissa is after, but now a new surprise catches them off is Taylor's mother doing there? Will she bring more calm or increase the storm that is already brewing over the Gold Coast? Please review.


	16. Tell

**A/N: I know I usually upload on Sundays, but my brother made me play a new computer game and had me hooked for the whole day. Since I didn't want to wait a whole week, I decided to break my rhythm and post today. Well, everyone, here is chapter 16. Enjoy!**

**CeliticH2O I agree, I find it a bit confusing myself. Bella is Taylor's aunt and Taylor never met her mother, because she left her right after Taylor was born.**

_Previously... The girls disband and seek comfort from their boyfriends. Somehow they are able to forgive Taylor for lying, while Taylor finds comfort in a new friend, who works at a cafe. They come back together in time to find out that Marissa's grudge is against humans. Back home the girls are met by a surprise visitor. Now on to the chapter.  
_

Chapter 16: Tell

All of them exchanged a curious look and then the woman turned around. Taylor gasped, "Mom!"

Bella smiled at Taylor. "It's been a while," she said as she stood up, "Aren't you going to give me a hug?"

Taylor jumped forward and hugged Bella, while asking, "What are you doing here?"

"What else can I do when you never call and hardly write anymore?" Bella answered, causing Taylor to flush red at her open neglect, "I wanted to see how you were doing. Plus a little vacation isn't bad."

"Sorry, it's been pretty hectic," Taylor tried to explain without mentioning certain aspects, "School and such. Where did you leave Will?" She looked around, half expecting him to be hiding around a corner.

"He's in Ireland. He had some business he couldn't leave alone," Bella explained, "He sends his love."

Then Bella's eyes fell on the four girls behind Taylor. Her niece noticed the gaze and quickly introduced, "You might remember Amber, Emily and Sarah and this is Rachel. You apparently already met their mothers. This is my mom, Bella." All four girls inclined their heads and said a greeting.

Bella smiled back, "It's nice to see you again. Nice to meet you Rachel. I would love to hear more about all of you, but the trip was exhausting."

"Where will you be staying?" Taylor questioned.

"In a hotel not far from here," Bella answered.

"That won't do," Rikki interrupted, "You're a guest here. You'll stay with us." Shocked everyone stared at her. It was an unusual proposal coming from Rikki. "What?" she asked, noticing everyone's gaze, "She is a guest and it's not like any of you have any room. You're already housing Taylor, Emma and you, Cleo, have Ethan to worry about. I have more than enough room to have Bella stay."

"If it's really alright with you, then I'll gladly stay with you. Thank you," Bella said, picking up her suitcase, which rested at her feet. She followed Rikki and Cleo, who was also heading home, to the door.

"I'll be back later," Amber called after them.

The five girls then went upstairs, intending on going to Taylor's room, but Taylor hesitated as she passed James' room. She hadn't been able to talk to him yet. Didn't know, if he would forgive her yet? "He's not here right now," Emily told her as though she could read her mind, "He's out with some friends. Probably will be back late tonight. You can talk to him tomorrow." Taylor nodded and followed her friends into her room, where they each found a place to sit.

"Well, that was a surprise," Emily began, "I never would have expected this."

"Tell me about it," Taylor replied, "Though it's true that I've barely contacted her since I got here."

"Not like it's your fault. The whole mermaid thing kept us all pretty busy," Sarah said, "She is nice. We didn't really get a chance to talk to her in Ireland."

"So why haven't you told your mom… your aunt… Bella that you're a mermaid?" Amber asked, stumbling over the correct term of which to use, and effectively cutting off any small talk.

Taylor froze for a moment before answering, "She's my aunt, but I call her mom. It saves me from explaining it to everyone and I guess in a sense she has taken that position. As for why, I guess for one thing I had never heard of it working. Until you showed up Marissa and I believed that we were the only two mermaids out there. We never even considered it a possibility that there could be more."

"You never considered it?" Emily questioned, surprised, "Not even that someone else might have transformed in your pool?"

"No, we made sure to keep any humans as far away from it as possible," Taylor answered.

"And why didn't you ever tell Bella?" Sarah inquired, remembering how hard it had been to lie to her mom for the short time, let alone several years like Taylor.

"Never found the right moment. In the beginning I didn't trust her enough and later when I did call her mom, I didn't want to ruin our relationship. She's not like your mothers. She never heard of mermaids, let alone known they were real. It just seems too much for her," Taylor explained.

"Honestly, Taylor, your mother seems so sweet and open, I don't think there is anything you can throw at her that will make her not love you anymore," Rachel retorted.

"So you're saying, I should tell her?" Taylor questioned, looking at all four of them, who nodded.

"It would make your life a hell of a lot easier and you won't feel horrible for lying to her anymore," Amber pointed out, leaning back into her chair.

"Also once your mom is okay with it, she can help break the news to your dad," Sarah added.

Suddenly Taylor's phone rang. It was a text. "Sierra wants me to work tomorrow morning," Taylor told them, "I guess then I'd better turn in for the night. See you guys tomorrow." Instead of getting up and leaving, all four crossed their arms before their chests and looked at her hard. "What?" Taylor asked, confused, but all she got was more stern gazes. "Okay, okay," she gave in, "I'll tell Bella."

With a satisfied smile the four girls got up and left, chorusing, "Good night."

After she had changed, Taylor laid awake in her bed. She hoped, no almost prayed, that she would hear James come home. The feeling of unknowing between them was impossible to bare. Would he forgive her? Why shouldn't he? "The others had, so why shouldn't he?" said one voice inside her. "Because he is closer to you than any of them. He expects you to tell him the truth," retorted another voice. Those two voices continued debating all throughout the night.

When her alarm clock awoke her the next morning, Taylor realized that she hadn't heard James come home. She had fallen asleep before that. However she had no time to contemplate it as she needed to hurry. Quickly she dressed and ran out the door. Like the night before Taylor came to a halt in front of James' room. Was he really back? Maybe she should knock? Her hand slowly rose to the door, but an inch before it met the door, she withdrew her hand. She couldn't knock so early in the morning, especially if he came home later last night.

After a quick breakfast, meeting only Emily's dad, Taylor left for the café. Arriving Sierra greeted her, "Hey, sorry to call you out this early, but my coworker is still sick. I got help for the afternoon, but right now I'm all by myself again."

"Not anymore," Taylor smiled and went to work, first setting up the tables and then serving the first customers to arrive.

After working for a few hours, Sierra nudged Taylor in the side. "I think that customer wants you to serve him," she whispered, motioning with her head towards a table. Taylor was about to ask how she knew it when she saw the customer. It was James. "Your boyfriend?" Sierra asked, concluding it from Taylor's expression, "Take your time. You're almost done anyway." Taylor nodded and slowly walked over to James.

"How may I help you?" she asked.

"I got up early to talk to my girlfriend, but she had already left. I was hoping to talk to her," James answered, playfully.

"You're in luck. Seems her coworker likes to play cupid," Taylor smiled.

"So this is your waitress you," James replied, looking up and down Taylor, "I like it."

Taylor sat down beside him, unsure of what to do. Finally she spoke, "I understand, if you don't trust me anymore. I lied to you, which caused your family to be in danger."

James stared at her for a moment. "I still trust you," he said, "Taylor, I love you for your personality. I don't care what you are, whether it's human or mermaid. I'm new to this whole mermaid world and it's confusing at times, so I'll follow you wherever you may take me in this crazy world."

Taylor stared at him for a moment and then pulled James in for a kiss. "What did I do to deserve you?" she asked.

"Be yourself," James answered with a smile, "But alas I must leave my angel alone. I have to go to college." With a final kiss James got up and left, leaving Taylor.

Taylor was about to get back to work when a voice said, "He's a nice boy. Isn't that Emma's son?"

Startled Taylor whirled around to see Bella. "You startled me," she replied, "Yes, that's Emma's son."

"He seems to be a nice boy," Bella smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Taylor asked.

"I wanted to spend some time with my daughter, if that's allowed," Bella answered, but looked around, "That is, if you're free to go."

Taylor looked over to Sierra, who simply waved her hand, indicating for her to go. With a smile Taylor followed Bella away from the café. "So what do you want to do?" Taylor questioned as they walked along the promenade.

"Actually I wanted to talk to you," Bella told her, making Taylor come to an abrupt stop.

Those words brought back what she had talked to the others about. "To be honest, I have to tell you something too," Taylor replied, carefully, causing Bella to look at her interested, "Can I go first?" Bella nodded. "Come with me," Taylor said, but Bella interrupted, "Can I go to the bathroom first?" Taylor nodded and Bella headed off.

Taylor walked towards the ocean, sat down and stared out at it, waiting for Bella to return. "So Bella is here," a voice suddenly said, causing her to look down at close to where the water met land. With her head out of the water, Marissa greeted her friend with a smile.

"Marissa," Taylor hissed, quickly looking around to make sure that no one was watching. Luckily the beach was empty, except for them. She turned back to her friend and stared at her, every part of her body tense and ready to pounce.

"Don't get your legs in a knot. I'm not here to attack you," Marissa said. Those words reassured Taylor for a reason unknown and she found herself marveling at her friend's beauty. If she was beautiful as a human, she was mesmerizing as a mermaid. All the features that hinted her mermaid side as a human now accentuated her beauty even more.

"So you're planning on tell her what you are," Marissa concluded, bringing Taylor out of her marveling.

"How do you…," Taylor began, surprised, but Marissa interrupted, "Isn't it obvious? You're leading her to a secluded part of a beach. You sure this is the right idea?"

"Of course," Taylor retorted, "She is the only family I have and I don't want to lie to her anymore."

"Really? Is that what you think or your so called new friends? You really think that Bella is just going to accept this?" Marissa asked, motioning down her body at her tail.

"She loves me," Taylor objected.

"How much can love compensate the weirdness? Bella is normal. She has never spent a thought about mermaids in her entire life. You really think she'll just accept it?" Marissa inquired.

Before Taylor could reply anything, Marissa submerged underwater. Confused she stared. "Sorry, it took so long," Bella said as she came up behind Taylor, "Wow, that really is an amazing view. Is that an island back there? What's it called?"

"Mako Island," Taylor replied, getting up.

"So what is it that you wanted to tell me, sweetie?" Bella asked.

Taylor opened her mouth and then closed it again. Was she really doing the right thing? Her gaze fixated on Mako in the distance. Looking at the island made her draw up the images of Sarah, Emily, Amber and Rachel. She drew on that strength and took a deep breath.

"Is everything alright?" Bella questioned.

"Yeah. I think it might be easier to show you," Taylor answered, "And mom… I always considered you that, even if you aren't my real mother." Bella stared at Taylor confused as she took a step into the water and dove in. As she felt herself transform underwater, Taylor saw Marissa in the distance, a blank expression on her face. For a moment Taylor looked at the surface and then broke it, letting a wave guide her to shore back to Bella. When Bella's eyes fell on Taylor they widened and she only stared at her. Uncomfortably Taylor fidgeted under her gaze. Why wasn't she saying anything? After a while Taylor said, "Say something, anything."

Slowly Bella stepped forward and kneeled down beside Taylor, her knees getting wet. "I could never hate you. I will always love you, whether human or this," Bella finally said as she rested a hand on Taylor's, "How did this happen?"

After Taylor was dragged out of the water and had turned back to normal, they settled down on the beach. Taylor opened her mouth to begin, when she felt a surge of magic coming towards them. With her hand that was hidden by her body from Bella, Taylor send out her own invisible magic to push Marissa's magic, it had to be her magic, back. "Everything alright?" Bella asked, looking at her. Taylor simply nodded and began to explain, all the while trying to fend of Marissa's magic from causing a wave or something worse to happen that could hurt Bella.

As she told her story, leaving out Marissa once more, but including all of the others, Taylor felt her breath becoming labored and her magic running low. Silently she called out to the others. Suddenly she felt four more powers flow join her and Taylor felt four people in the area. They were there, but hiding.

All of the sudden, just as Taylor finished the story, Marissa's magic disappeared. Bella looked at Taylor. "That is an amazing story," she said, "I'm happy you told me."

"I was serious… When I said that I thought of you as my mother," Taylor replied.

"So you don't want to ever know who your real mother is?" Bella asked, carefully.

"No. The day she left dad and me is the day she died for me. She left right after my birth and now you've taken that spot," Taylor answered and then remembered something, "You also had something you wanted to tell me?"

"It's not that important," Bella told her, "Plus I have to go. Rikki invited me to come along with the other mothers out for lunch." With a quick kiss on the cheek, Bella got up and left.

As soon as Bella was out of sight, Taylor turned around to look for her friends. True to her suspicion the four each came from different directions towards her. "You were spying on me?" Taylor accused them, a bit appalled.

"So what. Be glad that you did or you and Bella would be going to the hospital right now or drowning," Amber retorted. Taylor didn't reply to that.

"But it seems your mother took it well," Sarah said with a smile.

"She did," Taylor replied with a small smile, "Thanks for making me tell her."

"However I don't think we can leave Marissa alone any longer," Emily pointed out, making Taylor look up.

"What?" Taylor questioned, astonished.

"Taylor, she just attacked you and Bella. You seriously need more of a reason to take action?" Amber objected, "I can't believe I'm agreeing with you, Emily."

Pleadingly Taylor looked to Sarah, who looked away. "I know she's your friend, but we can't forever let her off the hook for it," Sarah said, "Taylor, we forgave you for lying about her, but we can't forgive Marissa, if really wants to hurt other people."

"Rachel…," Taylor muttered, barely audible.

"Sorry," was all that she whispered, making her opinion obvious.

Taylor stopped to stare at her friends. Before her eyes she could see her saviors, her angels, turning into demons and although she had promised not to screw this up, she had no other choice. "I can't agree with you. I won't let you hurt Marissa." With that she ran off. It hurt. She felt as though a dagger had been rammed into her chest four times, each thrust more painful than the last. Had Marissa been right? Did they only do what was best for them and not all of them? No matter how whacked Marissa was, Taylor owed her everything and would never betray her.

* * *

In Emma's house all four mothers had gathered. "So what is this all about?" Rikki asked, looking at Bella, who had called the meeting.

"There is something I wish to tell you," Bella began as they had settled down at the kitchen table, "Taylor has told me today that she and all of your daughters are mermaids."

"But then she also told you that we know this," Emily concluded, to which Bella nodded. The three mothers looked at Bella confused.

"That is not what I was going to tell you," Bella continued, "I came to Australia in hopes of finally finding the right moment to tell her. She seems more at home here than she ever was in Ireland, possibly because of her past. I was hoping you could help me explain it to her."

"What do you want to tell her so badly?" Cleo inquired, curiously.

Bella fidgeted a bit in her seat and then took a breath. "That I am her real mother," Bella confessed, lowering her eyes.

As the mothers stared at Bella astonished, one voice said, "What." Everyone turned to the speaker, their eyes wide with horror as they recognized the voice. In the doorway stood Taylor, her expression completely blank. "Say that again," Taylor told her in a shaking voice.

**A/N: **The truth is out. Bella is Taylor's birth mother. Why did Bella leave Taylor? How will Taylor react? Please review.


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